The Lotus Rock Lee
by AshleyKazekage
Summary: The tale of Setsuki begins here. Her life didn't begin quite so well, but upon making friendships her life was well on it's way to becoming great! She meets her best friend, and bonds with him easily. She is glad to have so many friends, and she even starts to fall in love, but refuses to show it at first. However Setsuki's life isn't as great as she thinks it really is..
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Setsuki! Turn that heat down!" Kaede demanded. I faced her, Kaede is my supervisor, at the curry spice shop in which I work at.  
>"Why?" I asked, looking at the flame on the stove which was high above the surface - <em>'dangerous'<em>.  
>"Because it will catch on the gas and explode!" She exclaimed, trying to push me aside so she could 'fix' it. I frowned and pushed her back.<br>"Noooo don't be silly Kaede-senpai, I got this." I said, then I grabbed a big pot from the other side of the kitchen and placed it on top of the flames.  
>"GET THAT OFF!" She screamed, reaching for it.<br>"WHY?!" I questioned, so eager to know why she was so worried.  
>"Because those flames will burn a hole in it!" She panicked.<br>"... You have an answer for everything.." I said, staring at her. She looked at me and her eye twitched. We stood there for a few moments, silently..  
>Before I knew it, the flame put a hole in the bottom of the pot. "SEE? WHAT DID I TELL YOU?"<br>"Ack!" I regrettably grabbed hold of the handles on the full metal pot. "OUCCCHHHHH!" I wailed, immediately letting go. My hands felt like they were on fire!  
>"You're such an idiot." Kaede grumbled. "Go put your hands under ice cold water now." I ran to the sink and turn the cold water on full, making water splash everywhere, then I tipped a bag of ice in the sink too and burried my hands in it.<br>I let out a sigh of relief. Kaede, after turning the stove off, turned to me and folded her arms. "You don't mind making a mess, do you?"  
>"It hurtsss." I whined.<br>"Do you know how tempted I am to fire you right now?" She inquired, firmly.  
>"I-I'll clean it up! I promise!" I implied, my hands beginning to grow cold from the ice.<br>"I don't think so Setsuki, your hands could not possibly handle such a big task. And lets not forget to mention you need to pay for a new pot." She mentioned, nudging her head to the bottomless pot. I sweatdropped and pulled my hands from the ice, and quickly make a jutsu sign.  
>"Water Clone Jutsu!" I chimed, creating two clones, then I immediately burried my hands back in the sink.<br>"Start clea-"  
>"Owww!" My clones cried in unison, then pushed me away from the sink to bury their hands in it.<br>"Hey!" I huffed, and pushed them out of the way.  
>"Setsuki." Kaede says.<br>"Yes?" Me and my clones answered. Kaede frowns.  
>"You're fired. And I still expect you to pay for a new pot." She growled. Me and my clones cried. "And it was a very expensive pot, so pay me 3,838 yen, then you can leave."<br>"What! But I don't have that much!" I cried. She sighs.  
>"I'm deducting it from your income, you get 8,444 yen per week anyway, and as for the remaining 4,606 yen.." She stopped to think. I display big, pleading eyes. "Well you did do a good job creating that super spicy curry on Thursday, so I will give you the rest." She said. I mentally danced.<br>"I'll get you some burn cream and bandages before you leave." She grumbled. I nodded.  
>"I would like that very much, thank you Kaede-senpai!" I called as she left the kitchen.<p>

I walked down the street with my clones, because I can't bear being completely by myself, it's too scary, especially at this late hour. My hands were wrapped in bandages up to my forearms and I found it embarrassing.  
>"How could you do something so stupid Setsuki?" One of my clones asked.<br>"Stupid? I was on a roll! You should've seen me! I was gonna make the spiciest curry in the world!" I exclaimed.  
>"Haha, you still on that?" I heard. I turned around.<br>"Naruto-kun!" I cheered, seeing the orange boy approach me.  
>"Hey, what happened to your arms?" He asked, eyeing my bandages.<br>"Errr, nothing at all!" I exclaimed, then got a smug smile.  
>".. She burned herself." My clone answered. I frowned. Naruto burst out laughing.<br>"Oh Setsuki, that's the funniest thing I've heard all day, dattebayo!" Naruto said between laughs. I whined.  
>"It's not funny!"<br>"Oh Setsuki, you really know how to make someone's day, I'll give you that dattebayo." He said, wiping a tear from his eye, laughing still. My clones joined in laughing. I released the jutsu, so both clones collapsed into puddles of water.  
>"Yeah, that's me!" I replied, smiling.<br>"So.. where are you headed this late?" He asked.  
>"Home. I.. just got fired." I sheepishly admitted, lowering my head.<br>"Burned and fired? Heh, get it? Fire?" He sneered, then laughed. I blinked.  
>"No?" I answered. He sighed.<br>"Don't worry." He groaned. "Well, my place is that way, so I guess I'll be seeing yo-"  
>"No! Naruto! Please come back with me to my place!" I pleaded.<br>"Why?" He asked, very confused.  
>".. I'll make you some ramen!" I exclaimed. His eyes turn to gold.<br>"Really!" He inquired. I smiled and nodded.

At my house I enter, Uncle Takashi was just about to sit down in the recliner when we enter through the front door.  
>"Setsuki? Back so early? Didn't you say you were working late tonight?" Takashi asked, stopping in midair in a squatting position. He stands up straight. "And what's with those bandages?"<br>"Hey Uncle, can you make some ramen for Naruto-kun?" I ask, completely disregarding all those questions. Takashi looks at Naruto with an uncertain look then goes into the kitchen. Takashi is yet another person who believes Naruto is dangerous, so he would rather avoid him. I know he's just ignorant because Naruto is a great friend.  
>Naruto and I sit at the dining table, talking about our day. He said he spent most of the day waiting around for Kakashi-sensei to arrive, then afterwards they did a bit of taijutsu training. I told him about how I trained my ninjutsu with my squad for the day then went to work in the afternoon.<br>Uncle Takashi comes out with a bowl of ramen (which I could've sworn it was one of those instant ramen in a cup things) and he sets it in front of Naruto, who of course, begins eating straight away.

Later on, Naruto went home, and I went to bed, ready for whatever the day throws at me tomorrow.

"Setsuki! Get up!" Takashi calls from downstairs. I open an eye slowly, then seeing the sunlight seeking through the window, I jump straight out of bed, get dressed into my ninja attire and groan in pain from my hands. I apply some more burn cream and rewrap the bandages, exactly how they were yesterday.

I run downstairs, grab the toast from Takashi's plate which he had set down on the table and gone to get a drink, then I run outside and look around eating the toast.  
>I sit down on the front step, waiting for either of my team members to walk past as they usually do. But no. I let out a sigh and finish the toast.<p>

"Setsuki!" I heard from inside. I snicker and start running down the street, avoiding all the people walking the opposite way. Takashi burst through the front door, and looked around for me, I looked back to see of he could see me, then suddenly I ran straight into someone, pushing them over and landing on top of them.  
>"Ow!" I heard. I quickly jumped to my feet.<br>"I am so sorry!" I said, extending my hand to help the girl up. She took my hand and I pulled her up. My eyes widened.  
>"Ouch!" I whine, after pulling her up I gripped my hand.<br>"Oh, are you alright?" The girl asked. I bit my lower lip and took a deep breath.  
>"Mmhmm.." I replied, slowly exhaling.<br>"Are you alright Tenten?" I heard. I look to her side, seeing someone dressed in a green spandex, orange leg warmers, I look up to his face, his hair...  
>"Yes I'm fine Lee." The girl, Tenten, replied. The boy looked at me, those great big orbs called eyes shifted their gaze to mine.<br>"Uh, hi, my name is Rock Lee, what is your name?" He asked, stepping forward and extending his hand.  
>"You... you're.." I couldn't speak properly, I was just so intrigued. Lee tilts his head.<br>"I am..?" He asks.  
>"Your hair! It's the shiniest hair I've ever seen!" I exclaimed, pointing at his shiny bowl-cut. Tenten and the other boy sweatdrop massively. Lee seemed shocked at my words.<br>"I.. uh.. thank you very much!" He said, seeming extremely happy. "That is the first time someone other than Gai-sensei has complimented it! Thank you again... uhh.."  
>"Oh I'm Kuromizu Setsuki." I replied, taking his hand and regrettably shaking it. I wince and bite my lower lip trying not to whimper again. But his grip was strong.<br>"Setsuki-san." Lee says.  
>"I hate to interrupt your little meeting, but we have to get going." Says the other guy which I thought was a girl until just then when he spoke. Lee let my hand go and faces him.<br>"Oh yes of course. I am sorry." He said, then bowed quickly to him. Lee faces me again. "It was nice meeting you Setsuki-san."  
>"Yes you too.. Rock Lee-san!" I replied, almost forgetting his name. Lee gave me a thumbs up, then Tenten started to push him from behind. Lee stood there confused.<br>"What are you doing Tenten?" Lee asked.  
>"Get moving! Nnnggghhh." She said, trying to push him forward.<br>"Oh, right!" Lee runs off, making Tenten nearly fall forward. I jumped in front her her and stand her up. I smile to myself, I love being taller than other people, even if it is about an inch compared to this girl. It makes me feel superior.  
>"Thank you." Tenten said, snapping me out of my prideful thoughts.<br>"No problem!" I exclaimed. The other boy just walked away, and Tenten followed, jogging a few steps to catch up. 'What weird girls..' I shrug and kept walking, then I forgot what I was doing in the first place.  
>"Setsuki! There you are!" I hear Komaru-sensei's voice. I smile and turn to face my sensei and two squad members; Daisuke and Susumu.<br>"Komaru-sensei! What are we doing today?" I asked.  
>"Well, have I got news for you three. Lets go to our usual meeting place.. race you there." He said, then poof, he was gone. Us three Genin stood there for a second before realizing what he said.<br>"You're on!" Daisuke said, but I had already started to run. "Setsuki-chaaan!" He whined.

At the meeting spot which is near the bridge where Naruto's squad waits all day for Kakashi-sensei, I beat them both, but Komaru-sensei was already there.  
>"Where's the other too?" Komaru asked, a light growl in his voice..<br>"I'm too fast for them sensei, you should know that by now." I implied, grinning.  
>"What happened to you?" He asked, looking at my bandages. I blink a few times.<br>".. Nothing.." I drawled out. Just before he started talking, Susumu and Daisuke arrived.  
>"We're her- oh.. Setsuki beat us again." Susumu grumbles.<br>"That surprises you?" Daisuke asked. "It's only natural that-"  
>"Not at all." Susumu grumbled, cutting him off.<br>"Now, listen up you three. There's something major happening." Komaru grumbled.  
>"Would that explain all these foreigners everywhere?" Susumu asked. Komaru nodded.<br>"Yes, it's for the Chuunin Exams, and I have put in a good word for you three... You'd best be thankful." He said. "Now if you want to enter, take these forms and fill them out." The three of us take them straight away and fill them out and hand them back all within less than a minute. Komaru narrowed his eyes supsiciously.  
>"Right.. You need to meet at the academy tomorrow at precisely 8am, so don't be late." Komaru-sensei said. We nodded and saluted him.<br>"Yes Komaru-sensei!" We said in unison.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"You got burned and fired on the same day? Hahaha fire.. get it? Fire?" Susumu chuckled. I gave him a blank expression.  
>"Naruto-kun said the same thing.. I don't get it." I replied.<br>"Don't be so mean to Setsuki!" Daisuke said in a huff.  
>"So, what's in store for today?" I asked, talking directly to Komaru-sensei who was still grinning after hearing the story behind my bandages. I pouted.<br>"It's not funny sensei, I don't have a way to earn money anymore." I whined.  
>"... What about your uncle? And the missions?" Susumu mentioned.<br>"LIAR!" We heard. We look over to where Naruto and his squad are. It seems Naruto and Sakura were yelling at Kakashi-sensei. It seems whatever Kakashi-sensei's excuse for being late is, they don't believe him. It was funny though.

I was up at 6am on the next day. I had two hours before I was due to be at the academy, and I must say, I was super excited.  
>I dressed into my ninja attire, then within a minute I was in the kitchen, only to be disappointed. Uncle Takashi was not up yet, so I didn't get to steal his toast. The sun was only just beginning to rise, to I create a clone to accompany me, because I hate it when the village is empty like this.<p>

Once I got to the training grounds, my clone started up a conversation.  
>"Hey, you know those three vertical logs?" My clone asked.<br>"The what now?" I asked. She facepalmed.  
>"Why on earth am I smarter than you? I'm a clone, I should be dumber." She said. I blinked.<br>"Dumber?... What's that supposed to mean!" I inquired, feeling upset. She raised an eyebrow.  
>"You never get angry, what's with that?.. Hmm.. Alright, I'll make you angry." She said, stopping. I stop too and stared at her. "You're fat."<br>"No I'm not." I replied, rubbing my stomach. "See? It's flat."  
>"You're ugly." She said. I say nothing, just blink. ".. You're really stupid." I blinked again. "... You're.. you're weak! You're so weak you can't even win against uncle Takashi in a taijutsu spar!" She exclaimed. I sniffled.<br>"You're so mean." I whined. She facepalmed again.  
>"You were supposed to be angry." She groaned.<br>"Yosh! If I can't beat someone like Takashi who isn't even a ninja, I must become stronger!" I exclaimed. She raised an eyebrow. I perform a few handsigns.  
>"... What are you doing?" She asked.<br>"I am going to beat you!" I implied, pointing to her with fire in my eyes.  
>"I'm your clone, our strengths are matched." She mentioned.<br>"Tornado of Water!" I said, then spat out a few litres of water, using my chakra to form it into a small tornado, I only create a big one when in a real fight. Then I use it to capture my clone, but she just disappeared into a puddle of water, the tornado did the same thing a few seconds after because I stopped focusing. I blinked a few times, then shiver. "Great.. I'm all alone." I muttered, then looked around. I could swear I heard voices. Curiously, I walked around the trees searching for the people these voices belong to.

It wasn't too long before I found those three vertical logs my clone was talking about, but I stopped walking because I saw two Lees. One on the ground doing push ups, and the other standing beside him with his arms folded watching with a smile. For some reason the Lee standing up was wearing a Jonin jacket. I smile, I wasn't alone anymore!

I run over to them. "Lee!" I called. The one doing push ups looks up, and the one standing up looks at me curiously.  
>"Setsuki-san!" Cheered the Lee doing push ups.<br>"Who is this?" The Lee standing up asked. I noticed his voice was rather deep. Upon closer inspection, this Lee standing up wasn't Lee at all. He was some old man dressed up like Lee.. maybe Lee was his role model or something.  
>"Gai-sensei, this is Kuromizu Setsuki, I met her yesterday on my way to training." Lee explained.<br>"Ah." The other Lee said, then he faced me, extending an arm. I was hesitant. "Well, they call me Maito Gai! Nice to meet you." He said, then grinned, his teeth sparkled. It was fascinating how white his teeth are. I regrettably took his hand and shake it. His grip is firmer than what Lee's is, and with the blisters on my unwrapped hands... I winced a little, but show no signs of pain, not today.  
>As soon as he let go of my hand, it felt like heaven. I had to put them on something cold now, they felt like they were burning up again. "Yes! Nice to meet you Maito Gai!" I exclaimed, then look around for something cold.<br>"Hm? I something wrong?" Gai asked. I shake my head.  
>"Not at all!" I lied. I thought maybe if I keep a conversation up, maybe the pain will leave my mind.<br>"So what brings you out here this early Setsuki?" Gai asked.  
>"Well you see, the Chuunin Exams start today, so I wanted to get out here early and prepare." I explained. He smiled and gave me a thumbs up, his teeth sparkle again, it was so intriguing. I wish my teeth could sparkle like that.<br>"That sounds like a very youthful spirit to me! Whaddaya say Lee?" Gai asked. Lee lifts one of his hands in a thumbs up towards me, and kept doing push ups on one hand.  
>"Yes Gai-sensei! Very youthful!" He concured. I had a feeling we're all going to get along quite well, even though I've only known this guy for about 5 minutes.<br>"Say, Setsuki, why don't you train with us for a while?" Gai offered. I smile big.  
>"Really? I would love to!" I exclaimed, jumping up and down a little. Gai does his nice guy pose again, intriguing me more with those teeth.<br>"Lee! What are you up to?" Gai asked.  
>"I am at 987 sensei!" Lee answerd.<br>"Well hurry it up Lee!" Gai said.  
>"Yes Gai-sensei!" Lee said, then speeds up his push ups. I watch him, I wish I was that fit.. though I could probably do that if I really tried. "988, 989, 990, 991,992, 993, 994, 995, 996, 997, 998, 999.. 1,000!" Lee then jumps up to his feet, imitating Gai's nice guy pose. Even his teeth sparkle a little.<br>"Good job Lee!" Gai praised.  
>"I did it! I did it!" Lee cheered, running around in a small circle. For some reason, the weirdness of this duo seemed interesting to me, after all, they're not as boring as everyone else, the oddness is actually interesting! A smile came across my face.<br>"Lee." Gai said, trying to get his attention.  
>"I did it! I really did it!" Lee exclaimed. I could see Gai's patience running low.<br>"LEE!" He shouted.  
>"Yes!" Lee replied, finally facing his sensei, his hands clenched in fist of determination. Gai lets out a sigh of relief, unfolded his arms and pointed at me.<br>"Lee, Setsuki would like to train with us! So I hereby commence a spar!" Gai announced. I felt pumped already! I can't believe I get to spar against someone so cool!  
>"Yes Gai-sensei!" Lee said, then faced me. I face him. We bowed to each other. He got into a fighting stance, standing up straight, one arm behind his back and the other out in front of him. He gave a fully concentrated look towards me.<br>My fighting stance was just a mere stand there and look at my opponent.  
>"Now.. Begin!" Gai said. I'm always one to attack first, so I run at Lee. He didn't move an inch, his eyes stayed completely focused on me. For someone so full a glee a few seconds ago, it doesn't take him long to concentrate.<br>I jumped into the air, then go down for a drop kick. Lee did not move, so I knew I was going to hit him. I smirked, victory is mine. Then he suddenly disappears, an inch before my foot touched his head. I focus and land on my feet properly so I don't fall over, then the next thing I knew my wrist was being forced back, and so I almost fell backwards but I was caught half way. Lee still had hold of my wrist.  
>"Gai-sensei her hands are full of blisters, is that fair?" Lee asked. I blink a few times. He was holding me, staring at my hand. I didn't know how to feel, awkward or freaked out.. so I just acted like this was normal.<br>"What?" Gai asked, then walked over. Lee stood me back up on my feet while Gai looked at my hands. "How did this happen?" He asked, eager to know.  
>"It's not that bad. Just a minor burn, that's all." I said. Gai started to contemplate and I looked at Lee. "How did you know about it anyway?" I asked.<br>"Well, I noticed yesterday when we shook hands, you winced, so I thought you were in pain and well.. I do not like fighting injured opponents." Lee answered.  
>"Hm, I may have some ointment in here somewhere." Gai said, searching through the pockets on his Jonin jacket.<br>"Oh it's okay, it doesn't hurt or anything." I said. Lee shook his head and put a hand on my shoulder. I looked at him again.  
>"You need to be in top condition at all times, and with hands like that, it will not be easy fighting." Lee said.<br>"Here we are!" Gai said, pulling out a small container from one of his pockets. "A bit of this and your hands will be completely healed in no time!" Gai said.  
>"Wait, Gai-sensei is that your expensive one?" Lee inquired, looking at it.<br>"Why yes it is Lee." Gai answered.  
>"Expensive? You don't need to use up your expensive ointment Gai-san, I can go by the pharmacy on the way there." I mentioned.<br>"No, your hands will not heal in time. Believe me Setsuki, this ointment is the top brand, and your hands need it!" Gai exclaimed, unscrewing the lid.  
>"Setsuki-san! If Gai-sensei says it is fine, then it is fine!" Lee said, giving me a thumbs up.<br>"That's right!" Gai says, dipping two fingers in the ointment. I nodded and held my hands out, Gai put the ointment over my blisters, it stung a little, and so I winced, but as I told myself before. I will not show any signs of pain today. "Lee, I suggest you do not burn your hands." Gai said. I thought that was a random thing to say.  
>"Uhh, yes Gai-sensei!" Lee said. "... Why?"<br>"Well these blisters are almost as bad as yours." Gai said.  
>"Yours?" I asked, facing Lee. Lee looks at his bandaged hands.<br>"From training." Lee answered.  
>"You got blisters from training?" I asked, astounded. Lee lowered his hands down beside him and nodded.<br>"But that is only because you push yourself too hard Lee." Gai said. I had to break this tension floating around in the air.  
>"But that is because I want to prove myself as a shinobi!" Lee exclaimed. Now's my chance. Just as Gai was about to speak, I cut him off.<br>"I know you're gonna pass the Chuunin Exams Lee-san!" I exclaimed. Lee smiled and gave me a thumbs up, making Gai smile too (and yes his teeth sparkle yet again).  
>"Thank you Setsuki-san!" Lee said.<br>"And I strongly agree Lee! Just do not push yourself past your limits and you will be just fine!" Gai announced, giving his nice guy pose to Lee. Lee became teary and faced his sensei.  
>"Thank you Gai-sensei!" He said. Just then Gai became teary as well. I blinked a few times.<br>"Lee!"  
>"Gai-sensei!"<br>"Lee!" They gave each other a huge hug. I got teary, the sight of the bond between a student and his sensei was so full of happiness. Gai noticed this and smiled at me, tears still rolling down his face. "Setsuki, come here." He said, spreading one of his arms. I stepped over and hug Gai too. Lee put his arm around me as well, so I did the same. "Such a youthful group hug!"  
>"Yes it is Gai-sensei!" Lee agreed.<br>"Alright." Gai said, letting us go. We all stand up straight and wipe our faces dry. "Setsuki, I will have Lee bandage your hands, then you may continue the spar." I nodded. Lee saluted Gai.  
>"Yes Gai-sensei! … But where will I get bandages from?" Lee inquired, scratching his head.<br>"Lee! Don't do that!" Gai shouted, he grabbed Lee's wrist and pulled it away from his head. Lee had a clueless expression. "Don't mess up your hair." He said. Lee gets watery eyes then bows to Gai.  
>"I am so sorry Gai-sensei!" He whined. Gai scratched his chin for a moment.<br>"It's fine Lee.. now.. bandages.. hmm.." Gai said, thinking aloud. I raise my index finger.  
>"The pharmacy!" I suggested. Gai snapped his fingers.<br>"Yes! You are smart for thinking of that Setsuki! Lee, go to the pharmacy and buy some bandages!" Gai said. Lee stands up as straight as he could and saluted Gai.  
>"Yes Gai-sense-"<br>"Lee, here's some money." I said, holding out some money. Lee blinked a few times, then looked at his sensei for permission. Gai nodded.  
>"But, do not spend all of it!" Gai said. Lee takes the money from my hand and saluted Gai.. again.<br>"Yes sir!" Within a blink of the eye, he was gone.  
>"Lee is one fast kid, he'll be back before you know it." Gai said, he put his hands on his hips and smiled in the direction Lee went.<br>"Yeah, really fast." I agreed. Gai turned and faced me completely.  
>"So, Setsuki. Tell me, are you entering the Chuunin Exams as well?" He asked. I turned to him and smiled, nodding.<br>"Yeah! I'm so excited!" I exclaimed. Gai gave me the nice guy pose, I am envious of his teeth.  
>"I know you will pass!" Gai said. I smiled.<br>"Thanks!" I replied. I heard footsteps coming up behind us, and I turned around to see those two from yesterday.  
>"Ah, good morning Neji, Tenten." Gai said, humbly welcoming them. I smiled, waiting for the "Good morning Gai-sensei!" but it never came. They both just groan in response. I was confused. "Come here you two." Gai said, beckoning them. They looked at me, Tenten smiled and the other girl just gives a look of boredom. "I want you to meet Kuromizu Setsuki. Setsuki, this is Hyuuga Neji, and Tenten." Gai said, pointing to each. I smiled and wave to them. Neji huffed and looked the other way.<br>"Yes, nice to meet you again Setsuki." Tenten said.  
>"You two are already acquainted?" Gai asked.<br>"Yeah, she ran into me yesterday." Tenten answered then laughed. I laughed too. Neji folded his arms.  
>"Knocked you clean over." I mentioned, we both nodded and laugh.<br>"Knocked clean over? Tenten! Don't tell me your letting people knock you over! What happened to all that stamina training we went through last week?" Gai questioned. Tenten raised her hands defensively.  
>"I'm letting people knock me over Gai-sensei, I just.." Tenten stopped to think of how to word her sentence.<br>"It was my mistake! I was running without looking and she was walking so therefore the person moving faster has a greater impact than the person walking so then.. so then the one with less impact would surely be the one to get knocked over!" I explained, trying to sound smart. Neji rolled his eyes.  
>"You have a good point there Setsuki. Alright Tenten, you're off the hook this time." Gai said. Neji sweatdropped. Tenten put an arm around my shoulders and smiled at me. I smiled back, she's short yet she wants to make herself appear taller by putting her arm around me.<br>"Thanks for that. I wasn't in the mood for a big lecture." She whispered. I thought for a moment then give her a thumbs up.  
>"No problem Tenten!" I said. She lost all her expression.<br>"Don't tell me..." She muttered.  
>"Tell you what?" I asked.<br>"GAI-SENSEIIIII!" Lee called, running up to us. We all turned to him as he stopped and panted, out of breath. We waited a few seconds to let him catch his breath, because it looks like he has something important to say.  
>"Ah, you're bac-"<br>"Gai-sensei the Chuunin Exams are going to start in 40 minutes!" Lee exclaimed.  
>"Well then we better get mov-"<br>"Setsuki-san, here are your bandages and spare change." Lee said, cutting Gai off again. He handed me my change, I took it and pocketed it. I reached for the bandages he was holding, but he jerked his hand back. "Allow me." He said. I tilted my head to the side.  
>"Okay."<br>".. Alright! We'll leave once Lee has applied your bandages." Gai stated.  
>"Yes Gai-sensei!" Lee sat me down on a rock, I don't know why but he just did, then he held one of my arms and began wrapping it up. I glimpsed at Tenten and Neji, they were staring at us two like we're strange.<p>

Lee wrapped my arms up just like his. "How does that feel?" Lee asked, he took a step back, allowing me to stand up. I moved my arms around a bit.  
>"Hahah! They're almost better than what Uncle Takashi does!" I said, then laughed. Lee tilted his head.<br>"Is that a good thing?"  
>I nodded. "Yes! Very good."<br>"Well that is good!" Lee responded, giving me a thumbs up.  
>"Alright! Of we go!" Gai said. Lee saluted.<br>"Yes Gai-sensei! Come on Setsuki-san!" Lee said, he grabbed my wrist and started running. I ran too, but he was much faster then me.  
>"Lee! Slow down a bit!" I called.<br>"Oh, my apologies!" He slowed his pace so we were running beside each other.  
>"What about Tenten and Neji?" I asked, looking back, seeing their pale faces.<br>"They will catch up!" Lee exclaimed.

We were on our way to the Chuunin Exams, I couldn't wait.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Once we arrived at the academy, Lee and I were so eager, we burst through the door together, with the biggest, most determined smiles on our faces. Tenten and Neji merely walked, paying no attention to us.  
>"Setsuki! Over here!" I heard Susumu call. I looked over in that direction, seeing both him and Daisuke standing there, beckoning me.<br>"Come here." I said, with no intention of moving. They both rolled their eyes and ran over.  
>"Who are you guys?" Susumu asked, talking to Lee in particular.<br>"My new friends. Susumu, Daisuke-kun, this is Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji, and Tenten." I introduced, gesturing to each. "And Lee-san, Tenten, Neji, this is Nara Susumu and Yamanaka Daisuke."  
>"Nice to meet you both!" Lee exclaimed, he extended both hands towards them. Susumu and Daisuke must have misinterpreted that as a gesture for hug, because they stood there leaning away from Lee. Neji quickly grew bored and wandered away, while Tenten smiled politely.<br>"Well nice to meet you both, come on Lee." Tenten giggled, she grabbed Lee's arm and tried to pull him. However Lee didn't budge.  
>"What are you doing Tenten?" Lee asked.<br>"Come on!" Tenten pointed to Neji who was already at the end of the corridor.  
>"Oh, right! Uh, Setsuki-san, are you coming?" Lee turned to me, waiting for my answer.<br>"Of course! Come on guys." I replied, dragging both Susumu and Daisuke.

Room 301. "Alright, lets go in!" Lee exclaimed as he approached the odd crowd gathered around the door.  
>"Not so fast." There were two men standing in front of the door. He had dark navy spiky hair, and a single bandage across his nose. This man punched Lee, causing him to fall backwards onto his bottom. My eyes widened.<br>"Tch, you're taking the Chuunin Exams yet you can't even get past us?" The man scoffed.  
>"Why don't you just give up now before you get hurt." Said the other.<br>"Please let us through, we're supposed to go in there." Tenten pleaded, standing up from Lee's aide. The same man stepped forward and punched Tenten as well. I stood forward.  
>"Stop hurting my friends!" I shouted. They gave a harsh grin.<br>"What's a kid like you going to do about it? I think I hear ya mum calling for ya, psh." He snickered. My heart sank a little, but I wasn't about to let them get away with hurting Lee and Tenten.  
>I heard people murmuring. "Man that's harsh.."<br>"Did you say harsh? Did kid yourself, we're being nice by comparison. The exams are gonna make this look like a picnic." The man said.  
>"Some of you wont survive the exams, others will be wrecked for life and some of you may go crazy. For Chuunin it's always life and death." Said the other man.<br>"You think it's a joke? Chuunin are qualified to lead missions, the lives of your squad members are in your hands so you gotta be tough enough to take the heat." Out of the corner of my eye I see two squads come in, and I would recognise that orange suit anywhere. _'Better late then never Naruto-kun.'_ I peered over the heads of everyone else, seeing in the other squad following Naruto's, there were two Inuzuka clan members, and what looked like an Aburame clan member. "Delicate little girls don't belong here."  
>"We're just thinnin' out the heard, you're not gonna pass anyway, so go home and play with your dolls." The man kept mocking.<br>I noticed Sasuke come out of the crowd, followed closely by Naruto, Sakura and that other squad.  
>"Hey! What's goin' on?" The female Inuzuka questioned, glaring at the two Chuunins blocking the door. Everyone's attention turned to them.<br>"Real nice speech.. Now both of you step aside and let me through." Sasuke said. Naruto and Sakura stopped, while Sasuke kept walking. "And while you're at it, reverse the Genjutsu. We can see through your illusion anyway. We're going to the third floor."  
>"What does he mean? We're on the third floor." Daisuke said.<br>"I know." Susumu answered.  
>"Well well." The man groaned. "So you noticed our Genjutsu eh?"<br>"Go ahead," Sasuke said, turning his head to Sakura. "Tell them Sakura, I'm sure you saw it before anyone else did."  
>"Huh?" Sakura snapped out of her little daydream.<br>"You have the sharpest eyes and the best analytical skills on our squad. You must have seen this coming a mile away." Sasuke said, turning his head back to the Chuunins.  
>"I must have?" Sakura responded, the most blank look on her face. She smiled smugly. "Well sure, of course! Sure, I spotted it right away." She proclaimed. "This is only the second floor."<br>"Right!" Naruto agreed, nodding his head once. Just then the sign above two door faded and became 201 rather than 301. I folded my arms and sighed quietly, Genjutsu is my weakness.. I would never have seen that coming.  
>"Heh.. Well, aren't we the smart ones? So you noticed an illusion... Psh.." I noticed a change in the man's eye. I could feel the tension building, something was going to happen. "Now lets see you deal with this!" He exclaimed, he did a few flips then swung a kick Sasuke, who was also going to kick him. I stepped forward, getting ready to stop them, when suddenly Lee appeared between them, he grabbed both their ankles. To think I thought Lee was fast before...<br>Lee let them go, and stood there. Sasuke gave a look of disgust to Lee's arm, possibly wondering about his strength, but then again, I thought Lee probably powered his arm with chakra to strengthen it.  
>"Hey, what happened to the plan?" Neji hissed, he stepped forward to Lee with Tenten. I walked up to them too, listening in on the conversation. "I thought you were the one who said to keep a low profile and don't let anyone see our skill level."<br>"I know but.." Lee replied, then looked the other way. I tried to see what he's looking at, but I couldn't quite tell.  
>"Never mind, it's over, forget it." Tenten sighed, shaking her head. Lee clenched a fist of determination as he faced either Sakura or Naruto, I couldn't tell which. I blinked a few times. Abruptly, Lee approached Sakura with red cheeks. I tilted my head to the side, watching them.<br>"My name is Rock Lee, you are Sakura, right?"  
>"Huh?"<br>Lee gives her a thumbs up and a big smile. "Please be my girlfriend, I vow to protect you with my life!" he stated, then his teeth sparkle, I smiled at Sakura to see her reaction. Her face had lost all color.  
>"Definitely... <em>not<em>." Sakura replied. I big wave of disappointment hit Lee, and his face lost all determination.  
>"Whyy?" Lee whined, he lowered his head in sheer disappointment.<br>"Because you're a weirdo." Sakura answered. Lee whimpers. Naruto rests his hands behind his head and cackles.  
>"Oh!" Said the male Inuzuka. I faced that squad, then realised everyone else had left. "You, with the weird blue hair, what's your name?"<br>"My hair is not weird!" I exclaimed, folding my arms. The two Inuzukas walked up to me, smirking. I raised an eyebrow.  
>"Well I see nothing wrong with blue hair." The female Inuzuka said.<br>"Yeah but your bright red hair is weird two." The male sneered.  
>"Do you wanna fight me!?" She questioned.<br>"Yeah! Bring it!" The male one grins, raising a fist.  
>"Hey, save it for later will ya?" Their teammate groans. They faced me again.<br>"So blue-hair, what's your name?" He asked.  
>"I'm Kuromizu Setsuki. And who are you two?" I replied.<br>"I'm Inuzuka Akakaze." Said the female, pointing to herself, then a white puppy poked it's head out of her jacket. I thought it was the cutest thing in the world. "And this is Shiro."  
>"Aww, she's so cute!" I exclaimed, smiling at the dog.<br>"Inuzuka Kazumaru, and this 'ere is Riku. And that over there is Aburame Kin." The male said, he pointed to a little black puppy sitting on his head, then pointed to the Aburame guy.  
>"Haha, the Aburame clan is weird." Daisuke teased. We stared at Daisuke. Kin just maintains his blank expression.<br>"As _exceedingly fun_ as this is... we kinda gotta go." Susumu mentioned. We all flinched, then raced each other to the _correct_ room this time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"Haha, we'll show 'em all!" Daisuke exclaimed. I laughed along with them. I turned my head to the side, observing the other Leaf squads gathered around the door.  
>They all seemed to be arguing, and making each other angry. Then some guy approached them, for some reason, this guy interested me. I listened in on their conversation.<br>"Hey, you guys." The grey-haired man said, capturing their attention. "You might wanna keep it down a little. I mean, no offense but, you're the nine rookies right? Fresh out of the academy.. I wouldn't go making a spectacle of yourselves. Just cool it, this isn't a class field trip."  
>"Well who asked you!" The blond girl snapped. "Who are you?" The grey-haired man looked at her.<br>"I'm Ka-"  
>"Hey Setsuki, look at that guy over there." Susumu said, pointing to some other dude. "How funny is his hair?"<br>"What's wrong with rainbow colored hair?" I asked. He sweat-dropped.  
>"I forgot you find nothing wrong with weird things." He grumbled. I turned my attention back to the others.<br>".. But really, look around you, you've made quite an impression." They grey-haired man said, I noticed almost everyone else in the room was staring at them. "See those guys? They're from the Rain Village." He said. "Very touchy, they all are. This exam makes everyone tense, and you don't want to rub them the wrong way right now."  
>Sakura whimpered. The grey-haired man looked down, smiling to himself. "You can't help it, I mean, how could you know how things work? You're just rookies. You remind me of myself a while back."<br>"Kabuto, is that your name?" Sakura asked. I tensed a little at the name.  
>"Where're you going?" Susumu asked as I stood up.<br>"Over there." I answered, keeping my eyes on Kabuto. I walked over quietly, none of them paid attention to me.  
>"Yeah?" Kabuto responded.<br>"This isn't the first time you've taken the exam?" Sakura asked. I stare at this Kabuto guy.  
>"... No it's.. my seventh." Kabuto answered. "Well, they're held twice a year so this will be my fourth year."<br>"Wow a veteran." Sakura said, amazed. "You must really be an expert by now."  
>"Yeah, sort of." Kabuto said.<br>"Cool! You can give us all the insight!" Naruto exclaimed.  
>"Yeah, some expert, he's never passed." Shikamaru said. Kabuto chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.<br>"Well seventh times the charm, that's what they say eh?" Kabuto said.  
>"So I guess all of those rumours about the exam being tough are true.. Oh man, I knew this was gonna be a drag."<br>"Hang on, don't give up hope yet." Kabuto said, reaching into his pocket. "Maybe I can help you kids out a little." He then pulled out what seems to be a few cards. "With my, ninja info cards."  
>"What the heck are those?" Sakura asked.<br>"It's hard to explain, but these cards are chakra en-coated with everything I have learned over the past four years." Kabuto said, then laid them down on the ground. "I've got more than 200 of them. So you see, I haven't been completely wasting my time. They may not look like much to the naked eye," he picked one up from the top of the deck. "in fact," he flipped it over and laid it down beside the deck. It was blank. "they appear blank. Don't want just anyone seeing this stuff." He put his index finger on it and twirled it around.  
>"What.. are you doing?"<br>"You see, I'm using my chakra to reveal their secrets. Like this for example." He raised his other hand up in a jutsu sign. Then a poof of smoke appeared from of the card then the card had what seemed to be a world map.  
>"Awesome! A map!" Sakura exclaimed. ".. Of what?"<br>"It shows the geographical distribution of all the candidates who have come to take the Chuunin Exam. What villages they come from, and how many from each village." Kabuto explained then looks up at us. "Why do you guys think they all come here to take the exam together at the same time?" There was a silence between everyone, except for the crunches of that fat kid's munching. "It's the foster friendship between nations of course! International brotherhood and all that, and it's true enough for as far as it goes." Kabuto explained.  
>"... But there's another reason.." Sasuke said.<br>"Ya, you see, the important thing is that this way, they can carefully regulate the total number of shinobi that end up in each village thereby maintaining the balance of power." Kabuto said, giving Sasuke a keen look.  
>"Oh yeah! Balance of power." Naruto said, his arms folded. He screwed his face up, thinking.<br>"Well it's all about the power, no big deal, what a drag." Shikamaru said. Kabuto levitated his hand over the card, and all the details disappear.  
>"If the balance isn't maintained, one nation will end up with many more shinobi than it's neighbours. And it may be tempted to attack them. So they try to maintain the status quo. Makes sense." Kabuto explained. I really had no idea what he was on about, he sounds like a nerd, and I don't like nerds.<br>".. I suppose.." Shikamaru said. I nod. If Shikamaru couldn't really comprehend what he was saying, then I suppose no one else did. Sasuke then stepped toward Kabuto, staring intently at the cards.  
>"Do those cards have any information on the other candidates, individually?" He asked. Kabuto looked up at him.<br>"They might." Kabuto replied, smirking. "You have someone special in mind?" Sasuke smirked.  
>"I might."<br>"Well," Kabuto began. "I can't promise my information is complete or perfect, but I've got something on just about everyone. Including you guys of course. So which one is it? Tell me anything you know about them, description, where they're from, whatever." Kabuto said, holding one card up. "Anything at all."  
>"He's Sabaku no Gaara." Sasuke replied, glaring at the card. "And there's Rock Lee of the Leaf Village while you're at it." I smiled at Lee's name.<br>"Man, that's not fun. You even know their names. That makes it easy." Kabuto said, he put the card down on the deck and placed his hand on it. He then coolly swiped the top card off.  
>Kabuto held two cards in front of him. "Here they are." I was interested myself, I had no idea who this Gaara person is that Sasuke said, but I was eager to know a bit about Lee.<br>"Show 'em to me." Sasuke growled, not taking his eyes off them. Kabuto put one of them on the ground, the blank side facing up. He put his index finger on it, and twirled it around again, doing the jutsu sign.  
>"Okay, first up, Rock Lee." He said, closing his eyes to concentrate. My eyes widened at the card after the puff of smoke appears. It was almost like an ID card for Lee. His picture, stats and everything were on it. "Looks like he's about a year older than you guys. Mission experience, 11 C-ranks, 20 D-ranks. His squad leader is Gai, in the last 12 months his taijutsu has radically improved. But his other skills are pretty shaky. Last year he got a lot of attention as a Genin, but for some reason he chose not to participate in the Chuunin Exam. This will be his first time as a candidate, just like you guys. His teammates are Tenten and Hyuuga Neji." Kabuto put another card down on top of Lee's and twirled it around.<br>"Okay, now for Sabaku no Gaara." Kabuto said. After the poof of smoke, an ID card identical to Lee's appears on it. "Mission experience, 8 C-rank, and get this, one B-rank as a Genin. There's not a lot more information on this guy. He was a rookie from another land originally. But there is this.. He survived every mission without getting a single scratch on him."  
>"The dude's done a B-rank mission as a Genin!" Shikamaru questioned. It was the not getting a single scratch part that creeped me out.<br>"What's the deal with this guy?" Naruto squeaked. Kabuto draws another card.  
>"Here's someone I think you may find interesting too." Kabuto said, twirling it around. I look closely to see properly, but then again, I was standing behind all of them, and I don't think any of them have acknowledged the fact I've been standing here this entire time. After the poof of smoke, my eyes widened. It.. was me. I gasped slightly.<br>"Who's that?" The fat kid asked.  
>"Setsuki!" Naruto and Sakura questioned in unison.<br>"What's so interesting about her?" Sasuke grumbled.  
>"Well, see here. Like Rock Lee, Setsuki is also about a year older than you lot. Mission experience, 17 C-ranks, 11 D-ranks. Within the last 12 months, her ninjutsu has greatly improved, her taijutsu is fairly moderate, but genjutsu is her weak point. Her squad leader is Ochida Komaru. She is also a very skillful Genin, however it was said she was away on a mission during the time of the Chuunin Exam last year that is the reason why she did not enter. Also there's a very interesting power she has, sh-"<br>"What are you? Some sort of stalker?" I asked, stepping forward. They all jumped and turned to me.  
>"How long have you been there?" The kid with the dog asked. I looked at Kabuto.<br>"How do you know so much about me?" I asked. Kabuto smirked and pushed his glasses up his face.  
>"Well, I suppose you're right.. Setsuki." He said, looking down at the card again. He drew another and puts it on top of mine.<br>".. Hey, answer me." I said, frowning a little.  
>"Well actually I've known you for a very long time Setsuki. Now, lets see." He said, trying to change the subject. I raised an eyebrow. He twirled the next card around, and we all watch curiously. Another map appears. The same world map as before. "Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, Sound.. from the looks of it, they've all sent exceptionally skilled candidates to the exam this time around... Of course, the Hidden Sound Village is small, it sprang up recently, no one knows anything about it. Those guys are a mystery." He said, then stacked the cards up again and looked up at all of us. "Well you get the point, the competition is going to be intense this year."<br>"So it would seem.." Hinata said. "It's almost enough to make you lose your confidence."  
>"It's a fine time to start talking like that!" The blond girl snaps at her.<br>"Do.. you really think it's going to be tougher this time?" Sakura asked.  
>"Ooh yeah." Kabuto said, eyeing off someone in the crowd. "In the four years I've been coming, I've never seen a crop of candidates with as much potential as this bunch."<br>"Hmm." Naruto growled.  
>"Yep, we've got our work cut out for us." Kabuto stated. Sakura steps forward to Naruto, putting a hand on my best friend's back.<br>"Hey, don't worry Naruto, we'll be fine!" She said. Then she gasped, looking at Naruto's fists shaking. I tilted my head to the side, was he upset or angry?  
>"Aaaaaaa!" Naruto turned around and points at everyone. I sweat-dropped. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! And I'm gonna beat every one of ya!" He announced. I smiled and stand beside him.<br>"And I'm Kuromizu Setsuki! Same deal!" I announced, giving a thumbs up, trying to imitate Lee.  
>"Beeeelieve it!" Naruto shouted.<br>"Hey! What are those idiots trying to do? Get us killed!" The blonde screams at Sakura. Sakura clenches her hands into fists. "Tell your boyfriend to keep his big fat trap shut!"  
>"Who's boyfriend?" Sakura screamed back.<br>"Oh, I forgot! You can't get one!"  
>"What'd you say!" Sakura shouted, bringing a fist up.<br>"Yeah!" Naruto cheered, putting his hands behind his head. "I feel a lot better now." I blinked at everyone.. their glares were nerve wracking.  
>Kabuto stood up, the tension was kinda frightening.<br>"Ahh, can you say that again? A little louder?" The dog boy asked. "Didn't quite catch it."  
>"You morons." Shikamaru groaned. "Are you trying to get everybody in the place to hate our guts or what?"<br>Naruto just cracked up laughing. Then Sakura pounced him from behind, capturing him in a headlock. "Naruto! You jackass! Why'd you have to go and say something like that? You obnoxious little..! .. O-oh, hi everyone! Haha, don't mind him, sometimes he says these spazzy things and doesn't really mean them, they just kinda come out, hahaha... He's got this um, condition you know, kind of a psychological thing, he really should be on medication... Now see what you've done Naruto!" She growled. I smiled, watching her yell. It's funny how she loses her temper so easily. Then I looked up, my eyes widened slightly. I swore I felt something move really fast behind me. Just then I turn around and saw someone jump up from a table, ready to attack. Kabuto turned around quickly, the attacker had two kunais in his hand. He threw them at Kabuto, but Kabuto jumped back just in time.  
>Just then out of no where, someone appeared in front of Kabuto, seeing the look of shock on Kabuto's face, I knew he was in trouble. The attacker went to punch Kabuto, but he leaned back, avoiding it, then gots a cocky smirk. I smiled, I knew there was something advanced about Kabuto, and his speed was one thing. Just then his glasses crack and pieces of the glass fall from it.<br>"Oh I get it." Kabuto said, holding one of the sides of his glasses. "So it was that kind of attack." Then he smiled and took his glasses off. Sasuke stepped forth.  
>"Hang on I saw it all, he dodged the attack. How did that happen?" Sasuke inquired.<br>"It must have come closer than it looked." Shikamaru said.  
>"Tch.."<br>"Look at 'im acting like it was nothing. Real tough guy." Shikamaru gushed. Kabuto looked at his opponent again, smiling for a second, then his eyes widened and he gasped loudly. He whimpered for a moment before falling to his knees, his hands slamed against the floor. I stepped forth, full of concern, even though I know nothing about this guy. Kabuto groaned in pain then coughed up blood.  
>"Hey! What..! Did he just..?" Naruto whimpered, freaking out.<br>"Kabuto what's wrong?" Sakura asked. "What is it?" Sakura and Naruto run over to Kabuto, checking on him. I saw the three Sound ninja snickering, and I stood in front of them.  
>"Hm? What's this?" They scoffed.<br>"You will not harm anyone else." I stated. The female laughed.  
>"Yeah, I'm fine." Kabuto said, standing up.<br>"Heh, not such a tough guy after all. That's why he's on his seventh try." Said the one covered in bandages.  
>"Write this on your little card punk, the Genin from the sound village will be Chuunin when this exam is over." Said the sound ninja in the yellow shirt, the one who attacked first. "Guaranteed."<br>"Hey, back off." I huffed. The one in the yellow shirt smirked and leaned down to my level, meeting my eyes.  
>"And what's a fragile little girl like you gonna do? Scratch me with your nails?" He scoffed, the three of them laughed. I sighed, just as I was about to say something a big cloud of smoke randomly appears.<br>"Alright you baby-faced degenerates! Pipe down and listen up!" Shouted a man's voice. We all looked down the other end of the room where the smoke was, and once the smoke disappeared, it reveals a man in a big black coat with a lot of Chuunin behind him. "It's time to begin. I'm Morino Ibiki, your proctor, and from this moment, your worst enemy." He says, smirking slightly I gulp quietly, talk about scary. I wondered what kind of thing we're doing...


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

I felt my body tense up, this guy definitely was scary. I stood there, trying not to show any fear.  
>"First, you candidates from the village hidden in the sound," Ibiki started, pointing to the trio in front of me. "knock it off! Who told you you could fight! You wanna be failed before we've even begun!"<br>The trio began to pathetically apologise, acting innocent. Ibiki reinforced the rule of no fighting among us candidates. He emphasised his message with a creepy aura and intimidating voice.  
>"Now, if we're ready, we'll proceed to the first part of the Chuunin Exam." Ibiki said. "Hand over your paperwork, in return you'll each be given a number." He says, holding up a few square-shaped pieces of paper containing an individual number on them. "This number determines where you will sit. We'll start the written test once you're all seated."<br>I sank a little, I was never good at writing things..

I handed Ibiki my sheet, and he gave me a number. Number 65. I found my seat and sat down. To my right was an empty spot, and to my left was some random guy from the Hidden Rain Village.  
>"Ahhh geez." I heard, when I looked, I saw a guy sit down in the spot to my right. "Hm?.. Hey." He said. I examined him, he was about my age, wearing a black onesie, and a neko-shaped hat. I like that hat, very much.<br>"Hiya!" I replied. He put an arm on the table, leaning toward me.  
>"What do they call you?"<br>"I'm Kuromizu Setsuki. And what about you?" I asked, staring at his hat rather than the distinct facepaint markings on his face.  
>"They call me Kankuro, one of the strongest guys from Suna."<br>"They? Who's 'they'?"  
>He frowned. "You know, people."<br>"Ohh...so what's your actual name?"  
>"… Kankuro..." He said. "I just said that.."<br>"Ohhh, I thought that was your nickname."  
>"Wow... aren't we the slow one?"<br>"I'm actually quite agile." I corrected him.  
>"That's not what I.. ugh, never mind." He sighed, looking away from me.<br>"What about you? You seem cool." I said, regaining his attention.  
>"You think so?" He grinned.<br>"Like ice!" I said.  
>"Wha..?"<br>"Ice is cool." I laughed, but then saw his blank, unamused expression. "Ehh, get it? Ice? cool? Because ice is frozen water, so it's cool.. eh? Get it?" I nudged him with my elbow.  
>"Yeah.. I know what ice is.." He spoke slowly.<br>"It's funny!" I exclaimed.  
>"Yeah... sure..." He looked away again.<p>

The Chuunins handed out the pieces of paper, two pencils and an eraser to each person.  
>Ibiki tapped the blackboard with a stick of chalk. "Everyone, eyes front." Everyone looked up at him. "There are a few rules you need to be aware of.. And I wont answer any questions." He began tapping the board with the chalk a few times. "So you had better pay attention the first time around." He turned and began writing on the board. "Alright, rule number one is this; the written part of the exam is conducted on a point reduction system." I was already lost. "Contrary to what some of you may be used to. You all begin the test with a perfect score of ten points. One point will be deducted for each question you get wrong. So if you miss three, your final score will be seven." He explained.<br>I thought I had the basic idea grasped. "Rule number two, teams will pass or fail based on the total score of all three members." My eyes widened slightly, and gasps filled the air from almost everyone. 'All three? Man.. there's no way we'll win now..'  
>Sakura up the front tried to complain out loud, but she was silenced.<br>"Rule number three, the sentinels you see positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating. And for every incident they spot, they will subtract two points from the culprit's score. So be warned. Their eyes are extremely sharp, and if they catch you five times you will be dismissed before the tests are even scored."  
>'Looks like there will be no cheating then.'<br>"Anyone foolish enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels doesn't deserve to be here. If you want to be considered shinobi, then show us what exceptional shinobi you can be."  
>I smiled slightly and nod. 'Simple enough. Answer questions.. don't cheat.. adds everyone's score at the end.. then.. pass! Yes!' I caught myself with a fist of courage held at my chest.<br>"One more thing. If any candidate should get a zero and fail the test, then the entire team fails. The final question won't be given out until before 15 minutes before the end of the testing period. You will have one hour total." Once the clock's second hand hit 12, we began.  
>I flipped the paper over and read over the questions. I frowned at the first one. Decipher a code.. "Next." I muttered.<br>"Next.. next.." I let out a sigh.  
>"You ain't got no clue 'ave ya?" Kankuro muttered, smiling at his paper. I glanced at him.<br>"No." I admitted in a low voice. He chuckled in his throat.  
>".. You know, you're kinda alright yourself, so I'll help ya out a little." He said, not taking his eyes of his sheet. My eyes light up.<br>"Really?" I felt like the happiest person alive. Even the smallest amount of help is bound to help me get more than a zero. He nodded.  
>"Just wait a few minutes." He murmured. I nodded and read over my sheet again.<br>"Thanks." I whispered.  
>"No problem." He whispered back. I looked around at all the sentinels, a particular one caught my eye. He had a line running down each cheek, starting from his eye, and ending at the bottom of his face. But it was his eyes that got to me, they had no irises, no pupils.. they were just plain white. I shivered. That kind of thing was scary, was he a ghost or something? I gulped.<br>"Somethin' gettin' to ya?"  
>I shook my head quickly. "N-nothing at all." I replied and looked away from that sentinel. I noticed Kankuro smirking to himself.<br>"Looks like Gaara's figured it out.."  
>"Huh?"<br>"Oh, nothing... I'm counting on you Crow." He muttered very quietly. 'Crow?' I shrugged and read over the impossible sheet again. Then something began to irritate me. What on Earth? I look around for the cause. My vision went blurry, then suddenly everything went blank.

I came conscious again, then looked around quickly. What on Earth had just happened? I looked at Kankuro who seemed to be giving me a strange look.  
>"How did you figure that out?" He inquired.<br>"What?" I asked. He gestured to my sheet. I looked down, seeing the second question was answered. I picked the sheet up and looked at the writing more closely. I squinted my eyes, and upon closer inspection, this hand writing did not belong to me, it was Daisuke's. But how on Earth did that happen? Then it clicked. He must have used his Mind Transfer technique. I looked behind, seeing him two tables down. He was secretly focused on Susumu to do the same.  
>"What's up?" Kankuro asked.<br>"Nothing." I replied, smiling to myself. At least now I wouldn't get a zero, even if I already have a perfect score of ten.

Few people were disqualified during the exam, and I wondered why they were all cheating.

I looked around, thinking about the answers when Kankuro raises his hand. "Uh excuse me?" Kankuro says.  
>"What is it?"<br>"Gotta use the can, sorry." He said. I facepalmed. The Chuunin, the one with white eyes stood up and put handcuffs on Kankuro and held the rope tied to them.  
>"We go with you, to make sure you're not up to anything." He said.<br>"That's perfectly understandable." Kankuro agreed as they started walking. Something about Kankuro's big smile bugged me. I looked back at my sheet. Only one question answered. Surely I can do better than that. Kankuro had turned his sheet over, so copying his answers was out of the question. Then my eyes widened. I slapped myself in the face. 'Bad Setsuki, what were you thinking! You can't cheat! You'll get yourself and the other two kicked out!' I shook my head in disappointment of myself.

I looked up at the clock, we had 20 minutes left. "Ah.." I groaned, something hit my eye and it stung. I put my pencil down and rubbed my eyes. I must have gotten dirt or something in them somehow. However, using my ninjutsu, I created water from my tear ducts, and drained the dirt from my eyes, then looked down at my paper. I blinked a few times, I saw some sort of eyeball hovering over my sheet. I shivered, this was definitely scary. I clenched a fist and punched it into the desk, gaining attention from the person beside me. The eyeball turned into a pile of sand. "What the..?" I muttered. Out of the corner of my eye I saw some red-head tense up slightly. He shifted his cold eyes in my direction for a second, then I recognized the kanji on his head. 'That must be that Sabaku no Gaara guy Sasuke was talking about earlier.'  
>I looked at the pile of sand on my desk, then picked my paper up with the sand still on it and tilted it over the edge of the table, making the sand slide off onto the ground.<br>"Hey, number 65, what are you doing?" A Chuunin asked. I tensed up slightly.  
>"Th-there's sand on my sheet, I'm getting it off." I answered, sounding as innocent as I possibly could. Then I wasted no time in returning the paper to my desk. None of the questions made any sense to me whatsoever. I rubbed my forehead. I was doomed.<p>

The ticking of the clock was irritating me. My eye twitched in sync with the ticking.  
>"Alright!" Ibiki called, making me jump. 'Noo! I've only answered one question! You can't continue yet!' I looked to my side. 'Kankuro isn't back yet..' "Listen up! Here's the tenth and final question!" I gripped my pencil. 'This is it.. maybe if I can answer this question correctly, I'll get a slightly higher score..' "But.." I raised an eyebrow. "Before I give you the question.. There are some more rules that you need to be aware of."<br>I scratched my neck, this is so much to take in. The door squeaking interrupted my thoughts, I turned my head back slightly, I saw Kankuro walk back in, his smile was still on his face. "Huh?" Kankuro whined, seeing everyone's eyes on him.  
>"Ahh." Ibiki said. "Made it just in time. I hope you found your trip to the bathroom enlightening."<br>I looked at Kankuro's concerned eyes, it was like he was freaking out. "Well..? Take your seat." Kankuro started walking down, I noticed he slowed down slightly when going past some girl with four ponytails. Kankuro returned to his seat beside me. He put one arm across the table in front of him then his other elbow in front of that arm, resting his chin on his hand. With the other hand he had behind that one, he flicked a small rolled up piece of paper toward me. I looked at it.  
>"What's this?" I whispered. He cleared his throat quietly.<br>"Read." He breathed. I curiously unrolled it. I couldn't believe it. All the answers, they were written here. All of them! I smiled, I really have to thank him later. I quickly wrote them all down.  
>"Theses rules are unique to question ten." Ibiki started. "Listen carefully. And try not to let them frighten you."<br>I scratched my cheek with the end of my pencil and try not to let my nerves get the better of me. I've answered the other nine questions, so this should be alright if I don't get the tenth question. "Very well then, rule number one. Each of you is free to choose not to be given the final question. It's your decision. If you choose not to take the tenth question, regardless to your answers of the other nine, you'll get a zero." Ibiki grinned. '.. Looks like I'm taking this tenth question then.' "In other words, you fail. And that means of course, both your teammates fail as well." I looked back at Daisuke, he was smirking, so obviously he ain't gonna give up, then I looked at Susumu. His lazy eyes showed no determination, but the teamwork Komaru-sensei taught us is invaluable, he wouldn't give up and let us fail too.  
>Murmurs broke the silence.<br>"Shut up." Ibiki groaned, we all paid attention to him again. "You didn't let me finish. If you do accept the question but answer it incorrectly.. you will not only fail... YOU WILL BE BARD FROM TAKING THE CHUUNIN EXAM EVER AGAIN!"  
>"What?" I gushed, almost having a heart attack. I began freaking out. What if I don't answer it right? What if I put the other two in jeopardy? I caught my hands shaking on my lap.<br>"Hey that's bull man!" The dog boy shouted, standing and pointing a finger at Ibiki. "That's ridiculous! What kind of rubbish rule is that? There's lots of people here that's taken the test before!" Then the dog on his head barked in concur. Ibiki smirked to himself, laughing in his throat. Ibiki started to laugh.  
>"Ahh, I guess you're just.. unlucky." Ibiki said in a ghostly voice. "I wasn't making the rules before. But I am now. Of course if you don't want to take it, you don't have to. If you're not feeling confident, then by all means skip it. You can come back and try again next year." He explained, then started laughing. "... Now then, if you're ready. The tenth and final question. Those who don't want to take then raise your hand. Your number will be recorded then you're free to go."<br>I gulped. I looked at Kankuro, he seemed deep in thought, staring at the desk. How on Earth was he so calm? I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. 'Find a happy place.. find a happy place.'

People started raising their hands all over the place. Kankuro put his hand on my arm and held it against the desk.  
>"You're not thinkin' of quittin' are ya?" He asked. I blinked a few times.<br>"N-not at all!" I exclaimed. He chuckled.  
>"Heh, then why were you raisin' your hand?"<br>"I wasn't!"  
>"You were tellin' yourself to find a happy place," he chucklen. "then you started to raise your arm."<br>".. Stop it." I groaned, brushing his hand off my arm.  
>"What?"<br>"You've saved my butt twice now." I laughed.  
>"You're lucky to have me sittin' here then ain't ya?"<br>I nodded. I turned my attention back to Ibiki. Then I saw Naruto up the front, he just raised his hand.  
>Then he slammed his hands agains the desk and pulled himself up to his feet.<br>"Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want! You guys aren't gonna scare me away! No way! I don't care if I do get stuck at Genin for the rest of my life! I'll still be Hokage someday!" He shouted, then sat down with his arms folded, feeling proud of himself. I smiled.  
>"This decision is one that could change your life." Ibiki said. "If for any reason you would rather quit, now's your last chance!"<br>"For those of you remaining there's only one thing left to do. And that's for me to tell you... That you've all passed the first exam." Ibiki delcared. I became utterly confused.  
>"Wh.. hold on!" Sakura said, standing up. "What just happened? What do you mean we passed? Where's the tenth question!"<br>Ibiki smiled, then laughed again. Kankuro nudged my arm with his elbow, I looked at him.  
>"This guy's nuts, I tell ya." Kankuro muttered. I nodded in agreement and we both faced the laughing maniac again.<br>"There never was one! Or a written one at least!" Ibiki implied, his smile grew bigger than ever. "Actually, your decision to stay was the answer to the tenth question!" He explained.  
>"Wait a second!" That girl with the four ponytails shouted. I heard Kankuro let out a sigh of irritation. "So the other nine questions you gave us, were just a waste of time? Is that what you're saying?"<br>"No no, not at all." Ibiki said, looking out the window.  
>"Sometimes I hate her." Kankuro grumbled. "Raising her voice all the time.."<br>"Who is she? Your girlfriend or something?" I asked. He choked.  
>"What? No way! She's just my bossy sister." He growled.<br>"Quite the opposite." Ibiki said. "The first nine questions had an important overriding purpose." He then looked at all of us. "To test your ability to surreptitiously gather strategic intelligence under the most absurd circumstances."  
>".. Oh, well that clears up everything." Kankuro's sister said.<br>"Let me explain." Ibiki began. "You see my objective was to test you not only as individuals, but as a team. And on how well you function as a part of that team. That's why the test was scored on a team basis. So you'd know that everything you did or failed to do would directly affect your teammates. I wanted to see how you'd handle the pressure."  
>"Mmhmm, yeah I figured it was something like that! That's why I kept my cool." Naruto proclaimed, I rolled my eyes and smiled.<br>"The first nine questions on the test were difficult." Ibiki said. 'You can say that again.' "In fact, as you may have realized, they were too difficult for any Genin to be expected to solve. I imagine that most of you quickly came to that conclusion. That you'd have to cheat if you had any chance of passing."  
>"But.. you said to not cheat at the start! You said that was a rule! And you emphasised that rule by placing these sentinels around the room, right?" I questioned. Ibiki chuckled.<br>"Now now, let me finish. The fact is, the test was designed to encourage cheating." I scratched my head, I was definitely confused now. "It almost demanded it. Of course it would have done you little good unless you had someone to cheat from. So I disguised two Chuunin who already knew the answers and had them sit in with you." He explained, two people raised their hands in a quick wave.  
>"Gahaha, ah come on, I wasn't fooled for a second! You had to be a complete doofus not to see it!" Naruto exclaimed. He then looked at a Hyuuga girl beside him. "Isn't that right Hinata?" I sweatdropped.<br>"Naruto.." I whined. "Don't call me a doofus."  
>"Huh?" Naruto looked back at me.<br>I pouted and he just shrugged it off.  
>"Those who were caught at it, failed. Better not to cheat," He then started to untie his bandana. "than to cheat clumsily." He then removed it, and the room filled with gasps. "Information. It can be the most valuable weapon in the battle. How well you gather intelligence can determine whether your mission's a failure or a success. There'll be times when you have to risk your life to get it."<br>"Man.. what a mess.." Sasuke grumbles. "Scars and puncture wounds.. Burn marks, what he must've endured.."  
>"That's disgusting, yet creepy at the same time." I murmured. Kankuro put a hand on my shoulder, making me jump. "Gahaa! Don't do that!" I hissed.<br>"Haha, you scare easily." He tormented. I sulked to myself.  
>"Of course you must always consider the source of your information." Ibiki said, putting his headband back on. "Intelligence gathered from an enemy is not necessarily accurate.. Always bear this in mind, dis-information can be worse than no information at all. It can lead to the death of comrades, or the loss of a village. That's why I put you in the position where you had to gather accurate intelligence. Cheat, in order to survive. And that's why those who weren't good enough at it, were weeded out, leaving the rest of you."<br>Ibiki proceeded to explain the rest of the tenth question, and an example situation of where we would use these cheating skills. It wasn't long before Naruto butt in.  
>"ALL RIGHT!" Naruto shouted, jumping out of his seat. "WE DID IT! THAT'S ONE DOWN! YEAH YEAH! WOOHOO! YEAH!" We all stared at him.<br>Something smashed through the window, Ibiki's attention was already on it. Two kunai's hit the roof and a red cloth fell down, in front of Ibiki, hiding him from sight. A woman appeared in front of it.  
>"Wh-what? Is this part of the test?"<br>"Heeeads up boys and girls, this is no time to be celebrating!" The woman roared. "I'll be your next proctor! Mitarashi Anko. Are ya ready for the second test?.. Good! Lets go! Follow me!" She cheered. We all sat there staring at this crazy woman.  
>I stood up, but Kankuro pulled me back down. Ibiki poked his head around the cloth.<br>"You're early." He said. "... Again."  
>Anko flushed, embarrassed. "How many are there?" She asked, Ibiki stepped around the cloth, and stood beside her. "Ibiki.. you let all these guys pass? Your test was too easy. You must be getting soft." She groaned, giving him a look of disgust.<br>"Or it could be, a stronger crop of candidates this year." Ibiki replied.  
>"Hmm. They sure don't look it. Trust me, before I'm done with 'em, more than half will be eliminated." Anko jested. "Alright, you maggots have had it easy so far, but! Things are gonna be different first thing in the morning. I'll let your squad leaders know where to meet me, dismissed."<br>"Oooh yeah! Bring it on!" I called. Anko, the sentinels, and some Genin have left by now. I noticed Lee's squad was gone too. It was just Naruto's, Kankuro's and my squads left in the room apart from Ibiki.  
>"Ya know," Kankuro started to speak as he rose from his seat. I looked up at him as he faced me. "despite the fact that you're.. off, I reckon you're kinda cool, so whaddaya say, friends?" he asked, then extended a hand to me. I smiled.<br>"Of course!" I grinned, slapping my hand in his, giving him a handshake. I forgot about my burns and winced slightly.  
>"Well then, Setsuki, allow me to show you out." Kankuro said. He pulled my hand up close to him, forcing me to my feet, and he threw an arm around my shoulders.<br>"Okay." I replied, and walked beside him as we left. Daisuke's high pitched growl echoed through the room as we left.

As we left the academy, we noticed the sun had already begun to set. "Wow, I thought we were only in there for an hour." I said.  
>"Heh, that was how long the test went for, but of course we were in there longer than an hour."<br>I laughed. "Oh yeah, say, is there anything I can do for you?"  
>"Hm? Whaddaya mean?"<br>"For helping me." I mentioned.  
>"Oh.." He thought about it, then smirked. "Well, there is one thing."<br>"Yes, what is it?" .  
>"Allow me to take you out for din-"<br>"Setsuki! Wait up!" Daisuke called. I stopped and turned around, breaking out of Kankuro's grip.  
>"Daisuke-kun!" Both him and Susumu ran to me.<br>"We have to see Komaru-sensei to see where we must meet tomorrow." Susumu said. Daisuke was glaring at Kankuro, and pulled me away from him.  
>"Oh! Yes of course!" I turned to Kankuro. "Hey, I'll catch you later! See ya!"<br>".. No problem." He grumbled just as my squad and I ran off.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The next day we find ourselves outside some big fenced area. The wind was pretty active today too. My squad and I stood by Lee's squad.  
>"Wow, this place is so big, what is it?" Naruto asks.<br>"This is the location for the second phase of the exam. It's the 44th battle training zone. Though we call it, the Forest of Death." Anko answers.  
>"Forest of... Death?" Naruto asks, seeming freaked out. I smile, sounds interesting.<p>

"What.. the.." Lee says.  
>"Huh?" I ask. Lee points to Naruto, he was randomly walking, some sort of cardboard box with a rock pattern on it was following him, and it froze as Naruto stops and turns around. Then Naruto starts running back and forth, the box picks up speed and follows him close behind. He just kept running, then he stops abruptly, and so does the box. Naruto faces the box with his hands on his hips.<br>Naruto points at it. "That's the worst disguise of all time! There's no such thing as square rocks! It's completely obvious!"  
>"You saw through my camouflage again!" The box says. "You're slick boss, just what I'd expect from my greatest rival!" The box then disappears and three puffs of different colored smoke, pink, yellow and blue appear, capturing everyone's attention. Three kids could be seen crouched down choking on it. I blink. "I think we used a bit too much gunpowder you guys." Says the one wearing the long blue scarf. They all look at Naruto.<br>"I'm Moegi, the sassiest kunoichi of pre-school! Check me out!" The girl says, doing a little dance.  
>"I love algebra, call me Udon!" Says the boy with the runny nose.<br>"And I'm the number one ninja in the village, I'm Konohamaru!" Says the one with the long scarf. I sweatdrop. "And when we're all together,"

"We're the Konohamaru ninja squad!" They all say in unison.

"Yeah, I knew it was you guys the whole time." Naruto says, his hands behind his head. "What the heck do you guys want? I'm about to take the second phase of the Chuunin Exam, and you're interrupting me. And I don't have time to be playin' around with you guys now."  
>"We didn't come here to play around boss! We're on official business!" Konohamaru says.<br>"Yeah! That's right! We came here for an exclusive interview!" Moegi exclaims.  
>"Uh huh!" Udon says, nodding.<br>"An interview huh?" Naruto asks.  
>"We're here on an assignment to write an article for the academy's newspaper, it's a big time all featured story about the Chuunin selection examination." Konohamaru says.<br>"So that's why we want to do an exclusive interview with you." Moegi says. "Please tell us you're going to do it!"  
>"It would mean a lot!" Udon says.<br>"Yeah.. but right now?" Naruto growls.  
>"Hey!" Anko calls. "You over there! What're you doing? You're holding up the exams." She says, walking over to him.<br>"Uh, sorry but Konohamaru was telling me something about an interview for the academy newspaper." Naruto says. Anko gasps and her eyes widen. Then she smiles and rubs the back of her head nervously.  
>"Oh yeah, I forgot all about it. Lord Hokage did mention something about them interviewing me." She says.<br>"Uhh, interviewing you?" Naruto asks.  
>"Alright, we're taking a 10 minute break!" Anko calls out. "For those that are scheduled to be interviewed, please be courteous and be thankful to the reporters from the academy's newspaper."<br>"I thought I was the only one being interviewed." Naruto complains.  
>"No boss, but you are the most important." Konohamaru says, getting out a notebook and pen.<br>"Oh! Well in that case, I'll give you an interview that'll make it clear to your readers why I'm the greatest ninja ever!" Naruto exclaims. I facepalm myself.  
>"Well.. 10 minutes huh? What should we do in the meantime?" Lee asks.<br>"Hmph, sit around and wait I suppose." Neji says.  
>"We could train?" I suggest. Lee gasps.<br>"Yes! Good idea Setsuki-san!" Lee says. He looks at my hands, then grabs my wrist, inspecting my hand. "How are your hands?"  
>"Quite good actually! Gai-san's ointment really did the trick!" I exclaim there was nothing on my hands now, just clear skin. Lee smiles.<br>"That is great news!" He says. "Now, we should do 100 push ups while we wait!"  
>"Yea- wait, 100?" I ask. But then I notice Lee was already on the ground doing them. I shrug and crouch down beside him and begin doing them too, of course I was slower because I'm not used to doing them. "Okay, 1.. 2.. 3.."<br>"17, 18, 19." Lee counts.

I begin running out of breath. "35... 36..." I breathe, ready to collapse.  
>"78, 79, 80." Lee continues. I collapse and fall on my stomach, I was really unfit compared to Lee. "98, 99, 100!" Lee exclaims, jumping up to his feet. "Yes! We did it! We- uh, Setsuki-san?"<br>"I'm.. okay.." I pant, rolling over onto my back.  
>"You do not look okay." Lee says. I take a few seconds to catch my breath.<br>"If you were smart you would save your energy for the second phase." Neji grumbles in a huffy tone. Lee sits down beside me, legs crossed.  
>"Setsuki-san, are you sure?" Lee asks. I smile.<br>"Yeah, stop asking." I chuckle.  
>"Oh, my apologies." Lee says. I sit up.<br>"Nah it's cool.. like ice." I say, smiling.  
>".. Excuse me?" Lee asks, tilting his head to the side.<br>"You know, cool, like ice, because ice is frozen water, therefore it's cool." I explain. Lee blinks.  
>"I do not understand." He says.<br>"It's a joke." I say, then pout a little. No one ever laughs.  
>"Oh! Of course! Haha." Lee laughs. Now this made me smile, he found it funny.<br>"Do your worst! You're not gonna scare me away!" Naruto exclaims, we face him. He points at Anko. "I can handle anything!"  
>Anko smiles and tilts her head tot he side. "So, looks like we got ourselves a tough guy.." Then she got a kunai in her hand somehow and throws it, narrowly missing his cheek and hitting the ground, and almost hitting someone's face on the way. That particular person was wearing some sort of big purple rope around their waist.<br>Then Anko suddenly disappears, then reappears behind Naruto all within a blink of the eye. "You tough enough to handle this?" Anko asks. "You're not afraid are you?" Then I notice she did get him. There was a nice cut on his cheek, blood dripping out of it. She puts a hand on the opposite cheek. "Tough guys like you leave blood all over this forest." She says, touching his blood, then she gets another kunai in her hand and turns her head back slightly. Someone was standing behind her, their tongue expanded out holding the kunai to her. I shiver and throw my arms around Lee, clinging to him.  
>"Huh?" Lee looks at me questionably, and hesitantly puts his arm around me, patting my back. "Are you afraid of something Setsuki-san?" My wide eyes stay firmly locked on that guy.<br>"I was.. just returning your knife." The woman says.  
>"Why thank you Grass ninja." Anko says. "You know I really only recommend you stand this close behind me, if you wish to reach a premature end." She says, taking the kunai. The woman pulls the tongue back into her mouth.<br>"My pardon. With a side of blood and your blade slicing through my hair, I'm afraid that I just became a little excited. I meant you no harm." She says. Then she chuckles and turns around and walks back to her squad.  
>"S-Setsuki-san, you are shivering, are you alright?" Lee asks.<br>"Huh? Well, yeah! I'm fine!" I imply, not loosening my grip at all.  
>"Likewise.." Anko says to that woman. I then notice Naruto sticking his tongue out to himself, he must be trying to do what that woman did. "Seems like everyone here today is quick tempered. There must be something in the air.. heh, this is gonna be fun." She mutters then walks to the gate. Lee somehow stood up with me still clinging to him. "Now before we begin this test, I have something to hand out to you all." She says, turning to us and pulling out some paper. "It's just a standard consent form. Before the test, all of you are going to have to read over this form, and then sign it."<br>"What for?" Naruto asks.  
>"Some of you may not come back from this test." Anko replies in a simple tone. "And I have to get your consent to that risk. Otherwise it would be my responsibility, ahahaha!" I sweatdrop. "Now, I'll explain what you'll be doing on this test. Here, pass these out." She says, handing them to Naruto. Naruto takes them. "The first thing you need to know, is that this test attacks every one of your survival skills."<br>Someone hands the pile of paper to Tenten, takes one and hands them to Neji. Neji does the same and hands them to Lee. Lee takes two and passes the rest on.  
>"First," Anko says, unrolling a scroll and holding it up in her hand. "I'll give you all a description of the rain on the practise field. The 44th training battle zone has 44 locked entrance gates. There are rivers, and a forest inside. In the center is the locked tower, located 10km from each gate. It's in this confined area that you'll undergo the survival test. The test consists of anything goes battle, to get your hands on these scrolls." She explains then holds up two rolled up scrolls in her hand.<br>"Both of them?" Sasuke asks.  
>"Yeah. You'll be fighting to get both, a Heaven scroll and an Earth scroll." Anko answers. I finally decide to let go of Lee and stand up straight.<br>"Here." Lee says, handing me one of the two forms he grabbed.  
>"Oh thanks." I say, taking it.<br>"All together, 28 teams will be taking part in this test. So half of those teams will be going after the Heaven scroll, and the other half will be trying to get the Earth scroll. I will hand over one kind of scroll to each team. And that' what you'll be vying for." Anko explains.  
>"Okay." Sasuke says. "So how do we pass the test?"<br>"Your squad must bring both a Heaven and Earth scroll to the tower." Anko answers.  
>"That means at the very best, half of us will fail. More if not every team is able to get both the scrolls." Sakura says.<br>"No one ever sad it was gonna be easy." Anko says with a blank look on her face. "Oh, and one more thing. The test has a time limit. You must finish it within 5 days."  
>"Five days out there?" That blond Genin questions.<br>"What are we gonna do for food!" The fat one questions.  
>"Just look around!" Anko says. "The forest is full of things to eat. There's plenty to feed all of you."<br>"Yeah but.." Kabuto says. "That's not all the forest has plenty of. There are man-eating beasts and poisonous plants in there."  
>"Daww man!" The fat kid complains.<br>"Quiet down! This is why they call it survival you know!" The blond gushes.  
>"That means.." Neji says. Lee and I look at him. "With these circumstances there's no way half the teams will pass the test."<br>"With the days getting longer, the nights are getting shorter. So we will have less time to sleep and less time to recover.." Lee says, then gets a small smile. "It is a challenge indeed!" He says, smiling fully, then his teeth sparkle. I get anime tears, oh how I wished my teeth would sparkle.  
>"Completely surrounded by enemies.." Sasuke says. "There wont be time to rest, we'll have to keep a constant watch."<br>"Right." Anko says, agreeing. "This test also measures endurance behind enemy lines. This is designed to be a gruelling test, and I'm sure some of you wont be up to the challenge."  
>"So um.." Shikamaru says, raising his hand. "Lets say mid-exam, can we quit?"<br>"Of course not. In the middle of a battle you can't say sorry I quit." Anko replies, then she smiles. "Well I guess you could but it's probably gonna get'cha killed."  
>"Oh just great.." Shikamaru groans. "This is gonna be a drag.."<br>"There are also some ways you can get disqualified. The first is simple, if all three members of a squad can't make it to the central tower with both scrolls after 5 days. Number two, if a team loses a member or a member becomes incapacitated and cannot continue. But most important, none of you, absolutely none of you may look at the contents of the scrolls until you've reached the tower." Anko says.  
>"Well what happens if it just happens to flip open and you read it?" Naruto asks.<br>"Lemme put it to you this way young man. You. Don't. Want. To. Know." Anko answers in a ghostly voice. "There will be times when a ninja is asked to carry out secret documents, the scroll rule is to test your integrity. Okay we're done. Each team take your consent forms over there and exchange them for scrolls." She says, pointing to a table with three Chuunin sitting at it. "After that, each team pick a gate, and you'll be lead inside." she says then sighs. "Oh, and I have one more word of advice... JUST DON'T DIE!"

We had half an hour to decide on it. I remain standing with Lee's squad because Susumu and Daisuke had already given me the nod to say they were gonna do it.  
>"This is definitely a challenge I will accept!" Lee exclaims. I smile.<br>"We'll pass through it with flying colors!" I exclaim.  
>"Yeah!" Lee says, raising his hand and smiling at me. I smile back and high-five him. The Chuunin pull a curtain over the stand so no one could see.<br>"Alright everyone, we're handing out the scrolls now." The Chuunin calls.

"But I wanna carry the scroll.." I whine, pouting. Daisuke jerks the Earth scroll away from me.  
>"No, I don't trust your coordination." He says. I get anime tears.<br>"I was 8 years old when I tripped on my own feet, I'm 13 now! I can handle it!" I imply. Daisuke shakes his head.  
>"No, I'm holding and that's final." He says. I fold my arms and pout.<br>"Fine."

We stand around waiting for the next order.  
>"Listen up! All of ya!" Anko calls, looking at her watch. "All the teams have received their scrolls so everybody go to your gate and wait there. When the gates open, the test is on!"<p>

We found ourselves outside of gate 42, and Lee's squad was at gate 41. I could see them, and Lee had the biggest flames burning from his eyes. I smile and face our gate.  
>I raise a fist to the air. "Yosh! Lets do this!" I exclaim.<br>"Yeah!" Both Daisuke and Susumu agree.

The Chuunin unlocks the gate and stares at his watch. I found myself jogging on the spot. I was ready.  
>"Alright! Listen up maggots!" Anko shouts. "The second part of the test has begun!" Then the gates open, and the three of us leap in, running as fast as we could.<p>

"Guys, keep your eyes and ears open." Susumu says. We nod. I sniff the air then stop.  
>"Huh? What's wrong?" Daisuke asks. I stood there for a moment.<br>"This way!" I say, beckoning them as I jump off in another direction.  
>"Hey! Setsuki wait up!" Susumu calls as they jump after me.<p>

I eventually jump down in a sort of open area and look around.  
>"What is it?" Susumu asks, jumping down beside me.<br>"I thought I smelled food." I say, then pout, looking around. Daisuke facepalms himself.  
>"We're here to search for scrolls, not food!" Daisuke growls. I sigh and take a step back randomly, then I hear something crunch as my foot hits the ground. It caught all of our attention. I lift my foot and there was a crushed potato chip.<br>"What's that..?" Susumu asks.  
>"A potato chip." I answer, crouching down. I then randomly look at the bush beside me then smirk. I jump up and over the bush, making it look like I jumped up into the trees and took off, but I really just jumped over the bush, and I saw three of the rookies laying on the ground, staring through the bush. I recognize one of them to be Shikamaru. Shikamaru, that annoying blond girl and that fat kid. I smirk even bigger.<br>I lower my hands slowly and hover them above Shikamaru's feet, then suddenly grab his ankles and shouting "Boo!".  
>"GAAAHHHHH!" Shikamaru and his teammates scream, jumping 10 feet in the air. I stood there cracking up laughing.<br>"What the?" Susumu asks.  
>"It's just.. the rookies!" I say between fits of laughter.<br>"Don't do that!" Shikamaru gushes.  
>"Hahaha, that was actually quite funny Setsuki." Daisuke says. I smile proudly.<br>"Thank you." I say. The three rookies jump down from the tree.  
>"Just what do you guys want?" Shikamaru groans.<br>"Your scroll." Susumu answers.  
>"O-okay! Lets not fight! We'll give you the scroll!" The blond girl says.<br>"Ino! We can't do that! We'll be kicked out of the exam!" Shikamaru retorts. '_So that's her name._'  
>"Well I'm not gonna fight them!" Ino gushes.<br>"Heh, what's the matter? Scared?" Daisuke teases.  
>"N-no!" Ino shouts.<br>"I think they are." Susumu sniggers, then they start closing in on them.  
>"Choji! Ino! We have to fight back, there's no other way!" Shikamaru says. '<em>And the fat kid's name is Choji.. right!<em>'  
>I wanted to join in with my teammates, so I begin closing in on the rookies too. "Yeah!" I say, trying to think of something to intimidate them with. "What are you gonna do? Fatty?" I ask. Choji's ear twitches, and Shikamaru's and Ino's eyes widen in shock and they look immediately at Choji. Susumu and Daisuke laugh.<br>"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!" Choji roars.  
>"Oh lookie, the kid's got a voice!" Daisuke mocks. I laugh along with them.<br>"Expansion Jutsu!" Choji says then before we know it, he's three times the size as he was before. I sweatdrop.  
>"Yeah! Get 'em Choji!" Ino cheers. Choji gets a dark look in his eye, particularly towards me. He points to me.<br>"I'M NOT FAT! I'M BIG BONED! ARGH!" He jumps up into the air and curls into a ball. "HUMAN BOULDER!" He says, then starts spinning around like an actual boulder. I think I may have underestimated him. I start running for dear life. The giant boulder kept chasing after me.  
>"Setsuki... you baka. Just use your water tricks or something!" Susumu calls out. I had a lightbulb appear above my head, symbolizing an idea. I perform a Jutsu sign with my hands.<br>"Ninja Art: Water Substitution Jutsu!" I say, then my body turns to water. Choji splashes straight through the puddle and into a tree. Seriously these trees are massive.  
>"Geez I forgot she could do that.. looks like we're gonna have to fight.. what a drag.." Shikamaru groans. I poke my head up from the puddle, it looks as though the impact with the tree knocked Choji right out. It took a few minutes before my body fully returned to normal, and during those minutes Susumu, Daisuke, Shikamaru and Ino start fighting. However, they were all distanced.<br>Ino was trying to focus her Mind Transfer jutsu on Susumu, Susumu was trying to focus his Shadow Possession Jutsu on Shikamaru, and Shikamaru was trying to focus his Shadow Possession Jutsu on Daisuke, and finally Daisuke was trying to focus his Mind Transfer Jutsu on Ino.  
>"Yosh! Time for my ultimate jutsu!" I call, they all look at me, loosing focus of everything. "... Mind Distraction Jutsu!" I say doing a hand sign. All four of them wait around for something to happen. I blink a few times then point to them. "Aha! It worked! Your minds are now distracted!" They all sweatdrop.<br>"You idiot." Susumu groans, then faces Shikamaru, immediately capturing him in his Shadow Possession Jutsu.  
>"Tch... dammit.." Shikamaru groans.<br>"Shikamaru!" Ino says, then faces Susumu and lines up her Mind Transfer Jutsu. Daisuke tackles her, throwing off her focus, therefore making her Jutsu miss. Her body became motionless. Daisuke stands up and brushes the dirt off him. Susumu stands up, forcing Shikamaru to do the same.  
>"Now, tell me which one of you has the scroll." Susumu says. Sweat drips down from Shikamaru's forehead.<br>"Tch..." Is all we heard from Shikamaru.  
>"I reckon he has it." Susumu says, moving his hand into his pocket and watches as Shikamaru reluctantly does the same. Susumu pulls his hand from his pocket not holding anything. However, when Shikamaru was forced to bring his hand out there was the scroll... their Earth scroll.<br>"You mean we wasted all this time on someone who has the same scroll?" Daisuke complains.  
>"Yeah," Susumu says, moving his hand in a way like he was gonna throw something. Then for some reason he pretends to throw something, but then Shikamaru threw the scroll toward him. Susumu raises a hand to catch it, and of course, Shikamaru's movements were exactly the same. "but that doesn't mean we can't use this scroll as a bribe."<br>"Ah, good thinkin'." Daisuke says. I just stand by and smile.  
>"Right, lets go look for a Heaven scroll." Susumu says, releasing his jutsu. Shikamaru slumps over little and pants a bit. We nod and follow Susumu as he jumps up through the trees.<p>

To think we have 5 days to survive here..


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It has been three days now, so it's now the fourth day of the exam, and we still need a Heaven scroll. We haven't run into any more squads at all, which kind of annoys me, after all, my squad isn't the most interesting or entertaining bunch.

We found a river and heard shouting up ahead. "What's that?" I ask.  
>"Psh, who knows?" Daisuke says. "Now hurry up and catch some fish Setsuki!"<br>"I'm trying!" I exclaim walking around the waist-height water.  
>"Isn't water like, your specialty? Can't you deform your body into water and catch a fish that way?" Susumu asks. I sweatdrop.<br>"Uhh.. I-I was.. um.. s-seeing how strong the current is! Yeah!" I proclaim. They both sigh.  
>"What?" We hear from up the river. I look but don't quite see anything.<br>"I need three more, idiot!" Shouts another voice.  
>"This is really tiring! Why don't you do it!" The first voice shouts. It clicked, I'd know that yelling anywhere.<br>"Naruto-kun!" I exclaim.  
>"What?" Daisuke asks.<br>"Yoshh!" I shout then turn my body into water, speeding along as the current carries me. I reform my eyes to see up ahead. I see a pair of legs and look up and see a blurry shade of bright yellow. It had to be Naruto. I smile and reform my arms, hugging his legs as I get to him, making him fall over.  
>"Gaah! Sasuke help! Something's got me!" Naruto cries trying to swim to the rocky bank. I kept hold of his ankles while reforming my body completely. "SASUKE!"<br>"Idiot, it's only Setsuki." Sasuke grumbles, folding his arms. Naruto stops moving, blinks a few times then looks at the water to see me smiling up at him from under the water. He frowns. I jump up and shake my head, making the water fly from my hair and all over him. "Gah! Watch it!"  
>"Hahaha! That was hilarious Naruto-kun! You were scared!" I laugh. He squints his eyes in a glare at me and growls. I look to the bank to see Sasuke standing there tapping his foot out of impatience. "Sasuke-kun~!" Sakura calls from afar. Sasuke looks back to the giant rock he's standing in front of, Sakura's voice was coming from the other side of it. "I'm ready for the fire! Can you use your Blazing Fireball?" She calls. Sasuke sighs quietly then turns around and starts walking.<br>"I guess three is fine." Sasuke says as he walks off.  
>"Huh? .. Wait, damn it!" Naruto shouts, glaring at his teammate.<br>"Three? Three what?" I ask. Naruto grumbles and folds his arms.  
>"Fish." He says then looks to a tree on the opposite side of the river, three fish were pinned to it by kunai, they were shaking their tails trying to get free.<br>"You need fish? I can get fish!" I exclaim.  
>"Huh? Oh yeah? Prove it! I bet you can't get more than three! Believe it!" Naruto says in that overconfident tone of his. I get anime tears.<br>"Naruto.. you don't have to be mean." I sob. He sweatdrops.  
>"Alright alright.. then catch them then!" He says. I nod then go under, see a few fish then spread chakra out into the water, basically catching the five them with the water itself. I stand up, and chuck them to the bank. Naruto had wide eyes. "H-how did you..?"<br>"Haha it's magic!" I say.  
>"Oooh! Magic huh! Can you teach me!" He pleads.<br>"We'll see." I say smirking slightly.  
>"Setsuki! Stop running off like that!" Daisuke calls as he and Susumu come running and find me and Naruto.<p>

We sit around the fire as the 8 fish are cooking. "I call dibs on two of them!" Susumu says.  
>"Nah! I do!" Naruto retorts.<br>"Can it losers." Sasuke says. "It's been four days since the Second Exam started."  
>"Yeah, you're right." Sakura says, poking the fire.<br>"The second exam started began around 3pm. We have only about 25 to 26 hours left." Sasuke says.  
>"A lot of teams might have already finished. If that's the case.." Sakura says. Naruto starts laughing. I saw Sasuke hold up their scroll, which is also an Earth scroll which means attacking them would also be useless. He is staring at it as though he's deep in thought. I see Naruto and Susumu drooling over the fire, both mentally claiming the biggest fish.<p>

Sakura began taking the fish off the fire, and giving them to everyone. Of course two of us will get two fish because there's six of us, and there's eight fish.  
>"It may be possible that there are no more Heaven scrolls." Sakura says, giving a sad look. Susumu and Naruto grab the two extra fish.<br>"What do you mean, Sakura?" Sasuke inquires.  
>"Four out of the allotted five days for the Second Exam has already passed.. That means that we used up 80 percent of the time for the exam already. Total participants, 84. Or 28 teams. There are only 14 Heaven scrolls and 14 Earth scrolls, and only 14 teams can pass. On top of that, you remember, right, Sasuke-kun...?" Sakura explains then looks at Sasuke. "That Orochimaru guy burned our Heaven scroll." Sasuke nods.<br>"Wait, Orochimaru?" I ask.  
>"Yeah, really creepy guy." Naruto says.<p>

They explain to me how they were attacked by this really powerful ninja who is said to be Orochimaru. Susumu and Daisuke shiver at the details, I become utterly freaked out about the whole tongue expanding thing.  
>"Yeah.. then he burned our Heaven scroll. So, that means when he did that, only 13 teams can pass now. Also, there's no guarantee that the other scrolls are safe." Sakura says.<br>"After we split up from the other Konoha guys, we used two days to recuperate from our wounds. We'll need to increase the distance we move in a day. The next enemy we meet could be our last chance." Sasuke says, then stands up. "I'll go get some drinking water." He says, holding a small piece of bamboo tied to a string, then starts walking off. Naruto reaches for the scroll Sasuke left there.  
>"Hey, hey." Naruto says, raising a hand to the side of his face and then speaks in a hushed tone. "I have a good way and it doesn't require us to fight."<br>"What?" Sakura asks. Naruto grabs his weapon pouch and tips out three scrolls, one blue, red and green. "Are you going to...?"  
>"Yep. I have a lot of scrolls with me." Naruto says, picking up the blue one. A ninja technique manual, a poison manual and a note-taking one. If we edit these to make it look like the Heaven scroll.."<br>"Wait!" Sakura says, extending her hand out as a stop sign. "Even if you do that, we don't know what's written inside. If the examiner takes a look inside, she'll find out right away! Idiot!"  
>"But I thought it was a good idea.." I say, patting Naruto on the back to cheer him up.<br>"These probably have some sort of passwords on them, and you won't know what the password is until you get both scrolls." Naruto says. "In other words, we need the password to pass. It's got to be something like that."  
>"Wow you're actually smart Naruto." I say. He glares at me.<br>".. So what do you think guys?" Naruto asks.  
>"We don't know what's inside." Sakura mentions. "So there's no point in making a fake, dumbass!" Sakura yells. Naruto went to retort but lowers his head in defeat. "Geez, I though you were going to say something better since you were so confident.. You didn't think enough."<br>"B-but what if we can predict the contents?" Naruto asks.  
>"Oooh! I love predicting things!" I exclaim, however, my remark went ignored.<br>"This Earth scroll," Naruto says, holding it out to Sakura.  
>"Are you planning to..?" Sakura asks.<br>"We'll try opening this scroll." Naruto says. Sakura punches his over the head.  
>"NO!" She gushes. "Did you forget the rule, you idiot! She told us not to look inside the scroll until we get to the tower!"<br>"But we're in trouble at this rate, right?" Naruto asks, getting anime tears and holding his head. Sakura lost her temper and became serious, pondering on his idea.  
>"I really don't think you should.." Susumu says.<br>"But we gotta try!" Naruto says.  
>"Quit trying to break the rules baka!" I say then go to hit him over the head then I stop and think. "But then again.. no on will know right?"<br>"Exactly!" Naruto says then points at me. "See? She makes a good point, believe it!" Naruto holds the scroll, we all watch eagerly, and nervously as he brings his other hand closer slowly to open it. Naruto gulps and sweat drips from his forehead. Naruto put his thumb on it, ready to unwrap it. He begins to slowly unravel it with his thumb, our heartbeats all sped up. Naruto starts to shake like mad and hesitates as he goes to open it more. Just then someone put a hand over Naruto's hands. I jump 10 feet in the air screaming. I hate it when people just come out of no where like that.  
>"You shouldn't do that." The person says. I stood there breathing fast from shock, then realize that the person is that Kabuto guy. Sasuke came running, then went to attack Kabuto, but Kabuto jumps to the side. "Hey, calm down, I mean no harm." Kabuto says. We all stand up.<br>"What do you want?" Sasuke asks.  
>"Geez, you're such a hopeless guy." Kabuto says, talking mostly to Naruto. "You shouldn't have done that.<br>"Sorry.." Sakura says.  
>"Those who break the rules will be forced into a situation where they must retire. In the previous Exam, the scrolls were made so that those who opened the scroll will see a sleep-inducing inscription. So they'll remain in this forest until the Exam ends." Kabuto says.<br>"By the way, you're Kabuto, right?" Sasuke asks. "What are you doing here alone?"  
>"It's not like I was after your scroll or anything." Kabuto says, turning to him. For some reason, I seriously felt close to this stranger.. I just.. didn't know.<br>"Right.." Sasuke says, a look of utter disbelief on his face. "If you wanted to, you could've stolen the scroll from Naruto back there. So are you after the Heaven scroll too?"  
>"No, I already have both." Kabuto says then pulls both a Heaven and Earth scrolls from his pocket. I gasp in awe.<br>"We've only managed to get two Earth scrolls.." I say. Kabuto looks at me smiles.  
>"Well Setsuki, I can help if you like." He says. I raise an eyebrow. Seriously he's a stalker.<br>"... Answer me. Why are you here alone?" Sasuke inquires, glaring at him.  
>"Well, a lot happened, but I was headed for the tower to meet up with my teammates. Well, excuse me, now." Kabuto says then turns around and begins to walk away.<br>"Wait!" Sasuke calls. Kabuto stops and looks back. "Fight us."  
>"Fight?" Kabuto asks, getting a slight smirk.<br>"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asks.  
>"You idiot! Do you know what you're saying?" Naruto questions.<br>"Are you serious?" Kabuto asks, turning around to face us all.  
>"I'm sorry but we don't have time." Sasuke says.<br>"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto says, pointing at him. "Kabuto-san helped us!"  
>"Sasuke-kun, I don't think that's appropriate, either.." Sakura concurs.<br>"Shut up." Sasuke hisses. Sakura seemed pretty shocked, being told to shut up. "We don't have much choice. I told you before.. This is the only way we can survive in this forest!"  
>"Hm.. that's a lie." Kabuto says.<br>"A lie?" Naruto and I ask in unison. Kabuto smiles at the two of us.  
>"You're not as prepared as you say you are. If you wanted to be more serious about this exam, why did you need to challenge me? You could've just attacked me when I had my guard down instead of declaring a challenge. That's what a ninja is supposed to do." Kabuto says, pushing his glasses up.<br>"Th-"  
>"Hey! You got new glasses!" I exclaim, pointing to Kabuto's glasses. He blinks.<br>"Yes.. I did. How observant of you." Kabuto says, he then faces Sasuke again. "I don't blame you for challenging me though. That's why I shall tell you what path to take. But.." He says, then begins turning around. "Lets talk while we walk. The bonfire's smoke was carrying the smell of grilled fish. If we stick around, wild animals and enemies will come after us."  
>"Will it stall for time if we put it out?" Susumu asks.<br>".. Possibly, but I cannot promise anything." Kabuto says.  
>"I'm on it!" I exclaim then run over to the fire. I perform a few hand signs. "Water Style: Water Gun." I say then spit out water from my mouth like a water from a hose, and put the fire out.<br>"You know, instead of using your chakra, you could have just got a bucket and filled it with water from the lake, idiot." Sasuke says.  
>"Oh leave her alone, you know what she's like." Daisuke says.<br>"What?" I ask.  
>"Hn, good point." Sasuke says.<br>"What?" I ask again.  
>"Nothing lets go." Sasuke groans, then we follow Kabuto.<p>

We jump at a fast speed through the trees. "Are you sure there are enemies left?" Daisuke asks.  
>"Yeah, I'm sure of it. You just need to think a little to understand." Kabuto replies. "In a jungle battle like this or in an open forest, do you know the cleverest way to fight?"<br>"Yeah! You knock 'em all out! Duh!" I say. Kabuto chuckles.  
>"No, not quite what I meant, Setsuki." Kabuto says. "You see, the goal of the examinees is the tower at the center of this forest. That means on the last day, the easiest place to get a scroll is around that tower."<br>"Oh I get it! So we're going to lay in wait." Sakura says.  
>"Clever." Susumu says. "That means we're going to go after the teams that have both scrolls and are heading for the tower."<br>"That's one-third correct." Kabuto says. "That means you're not the only one thinking that. People who thought of the same idea should have traps set up around the tower."  
>"I got it! So that means there are a lot of enemies there waiting for us!" I say.<br>"Yeah, it's more exciting when there's a handicap." Naruto says. "I look forward to it! We just need to beat all those guys, get the Heaven scroll and we'll be out of here!"  
>"No, that's only still two-thirds correct." Kabuto says.<br>"You think too much Kabuto." I say. He just smiles.  
>"So what's the remaining one-third?" Susumu inquires.<br>"We have to think of the 'collectors' who appear in the exams like this." Kabuto answers.  
>".. Collectors?" I ask.<br>"Even if the tower is really close, you're still not safe in this exam. The special situation gives birth to them. In other words, if they meet an unexpected enemy, they keep extra scrolls and give one to the enemy in exchange for going free. Or by giving friends who are in the same village a scroll they need, they can gain information to get through the remaining exams easier. Or crush those strong ones who will get to the Third Exam. Although you've probably figured out by now they are pretty strong. They are the worst enemies you can meet since they are never satisfied." Kabuto explains.  
>"Hey I get it, hey! Susumu! That other Earth scroll we have, we could use it in exchange, so then we don't have to fight!" I exclaim.<br>"Yeah! Lets go find another squad." Daisuke says.  
>"Yeah!" I concur. "We'll be seeing you guys around!"<br>"Alright! Be careful Setsuki!" Naruto says.  
>"Yeah yeah, I will!" I say, then the three of us jump off in another direction.<p>

About an hour later, we saw three people crouched down behind a bush, staring at a grassy bit ahead. "Lets pick on them." Daisuke says.  
>"Okay!" I say.<br>"Shushhh!" They both say, both covering my mouth with one of their hands.  
>"We'll sneak up behind them and give them a surprise attack." Susumu mutters.<br>"I'm afraid it's too late for that." We hear. We turn on the branch to see the same three on another branch. I look down, they weren't there. They sure did move fast. "You guys better have a Earth scroll." The female growls.  
>"Wait, so you guys have a Heaven scroll?" I ask. Their expressions became less fierce.<br>"A? We have two." The female says.  
>"Hey! I know you!" I exclaim, pointing to the girl. "You're Inuzuka Akakaze."<br>"Huh? Oh yeah.. you're that girl we met back then.. I thought the scent was familiar." Akakaze says.  
>"So what were you saying about the scrolls?" Kin asks.<br>"Hey, they have two Heaven scrolls, and we have two Earth scrolls!" I exclaim.  
>"You do?" Kazumaru questions.<br>"Yes we do! Wanna trade?" I ask.  
>"I dunno, what do you guys think?" Akakaze asks her squad. They both shrug. I face my squad.<br>"We should totally do it! After all, we're from the same village, thus we're allies!" I exclaim, trying to sound smart.  
>"Yeah.. Setsuki, you take it over then if you're so 'keen'." Susumu says.<br>"Yoshh! Gimme the scroll then!" I say, extending my hand. Susumu sighs and gives me one of the Earth scrolls, the one we took from Shikamaru's squad. I take it and jump over to the squad on the other branch. "Here, take this Earth scroll in exchange for a Heaven scroll."  
>"Okay! Here!" Kazumaru says, and steals Akakaze's bag.<br>"Hey!" She growls.  
>"I'm giving her a Heaven scroll! The we can both pass! It makes sense!" Kazumaru says.<br>"But that doesn't give you the right to take my bag!" Akakaze grumbles then folds her arms. Her dog riding in her jacket barks in concur. Kazumaru pulls out a Heaven scroll and hands it out to me. I take it and give him the Earth scroll.  
>"Yosh! Now we can both pass!" I exclaim, raising a fist to the air.<br>"Oh hey, you're that green guy's friend right?" Kazumaru asks.  
>"Green guy?" I ask.<br>"Yeah, he like, beat up that Otogakure squad." Akakaze says.  
>"Oh really? Wow.." I say.<br>"Hey! Stop the chit-chat! We have a task at hand you know!" Susumu calls.  
>"Alright alright! I'm coming!" I reply then jump back to my squad. The sun was beginning to set, so we were running out of time.<br>"We have to get there now." Daisuke says. We nod.

We ran as fast as our feet could carry us, and somehow I am faster then my two squad members. Could it be because I train a lot?  
>So we get to the tower at early hours, possibly about 4 am. We stop to take a break for half an hour then go exploring around the tower. We found a door with a note on it saying '42'.<br>"Maybe this is where we go in." Daisuke says.  
>"Yeah.. totally." I agree.<br>"Well, I've run around, it seems there's 44 doors, each with a number on it starting from one to 44. So I guess they resemble the numbers on the gates we entered in." Susumu says.  
>"Why are you so smart?" I ask.<br>"Well.. The Nara clan is supposedly smart." Susumu boasts.  
>"Yeah yeah." I groan.<br>"Shut up and lets just go in." Daisuke says, then opens the double doors. We follow him in. It is an empty room and I look around.  
>"So.. what are we supposed to do now?" I ask.<br>"Hey look at that!" Daisuke says, pointing to a board with writing on it.  
>"If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared. If you do not possess Earth, run through the fields and seek strength. If you open both Heaven and Earth scrolls, dangerous paths turn into safe points. This is the secret of something something. It shall lead you on your way." Susumu reads it aloud.<br>"Ohh I get it!" I exclaim. They both look at me, full of utter disbelief.  
>"Oh yeah, then go ahead and explain it, Setsuki." Daisuke says. I scratch my head.<br>"Nahh, I don't feel like it.." I say. They both facepalm themselves.  
>"It clearly means, that we have to open both scrolls and.. do... something." Susumu says.<br>"Yosh! Then lets open them!" I say, then tackle Daisuke.  
>"Gah! Get off!" He growls.<br>"Gimme the scrolls!" I nag.  
>"No!" He retorts.<br>"Seriously you two, grow up. Geez, Daisuke, gimme the scrolls." Susumu says.  
>"You're just as bad as her!" Daisuke says.<br>"I'm not bad! I'm quite the good fighter!" I proclaim. Daisuke frowns at me.  
>"You're so slow." He groans.<br>"No I'm not, I'm actually quite agile." I say, feeling proud.  
>"Get off me!" He shouts.<br>"Would you two just shut it!" Susumu growls. I sigh and get off Daisuke, and fold my arms.  
>"Why can't I have the scrolls?" I ask.<br>"Because we don't trust you." Susumu says. I get anime tears.  
>"Why?" I whine.<br>"Because you're not.. erm.. what's the word... uhh.. you're not smart enough." Daisuke says. I blink, he had me there.  
>"Seriously, stop gawking me." Daisuke says. I look the other way.<br>"So, this must be some sort of riddle!" Susumu says, feeling proud that he discovered something.  
>"Well no shit." Daisuke says. Susumu frowns, his ego crushed.<br>"Well anyway, the message must be telling us to open both scrolls." Susumu says. We all look at the scrolls in Daisuke's hands and hesitate. I wonder if anything bad will happen, like how Kabuto explained earlier. I clear my throat.  
>"Lets just open them." I say. We all nod and unravel the the scrolls at the same time and lay them on the ground. We notice some sort of strange sign on them.<br>".. 'Person', 'Jin'? What?" Susumu asks, reading it.  
>"Wait! They're summonings!" Daisuke says. We stands back, and watch as the funny symbol rises up and smoke starts appearing. Before we knew it, a large cloud of smoke was coming from the scrolls then a small 'poof' could be heard.<br>As the smoke started to disappear, we could see the silhouette of a person. I squint my eyes to try and see any distinct features on this person. Then the smoke disappears revealing Komaru-sensei.  
>"Komaru-sensei!" I call, then run over and bear hug my sensei. He sweatdrops.<br>"Uhh, yeah, nice to see you too.. Setsuki.. Let go now." Komaru-sensei says. I chuckle to myself and let go.  
>"Where the hell did you come from Komaru-sensei?" Daisuke asks.<br>"From the scrolls." Komaru-sensei bluntly replies.  
>"So what's going on? Why are you here sensei?" Susumu asks.<br>"We senseis are to welcome the examinees at the end of this Second Exam. I was given the duty to pass the three of you a message by chance." Komaru-sensei says.  
>"And what would that be?" I ask. Komaru-sensei checks his watch.<br>"Ah, seems you made it on time. Good job." He says. "Now, everyone, congratulations on passing the Second Exam!" I get tears of happiness.  
>"THANK YOU KOMARU-SENSEI!" I cry out, then bear hug him again. They all sweatdrop.<br>"Oh yeah, sensei, there's two missing words on that message thing up there, what does that mean?" Susumu asks.  
>"Oh that? Yes, the next part of my mission is to explain what that means." Komaru-sensei says. "This is the principal Hokage-sama wrote that you should keep in mind as a Chuunin. The 'Heaven' in this text points to the head of a person, and contrariwise 'Earth' points to the body. If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared. That means, for example, if Setsuki's weak point is her brain, she should study and prepare for her missions." I frown.<br>"My weak point isn't my brain. There's nothing wrong with it!" I exclaim. The two teammates behind me laugh. Komaru-sensei laughs as well.  
>"And if you do not possess Earth, run through the fields and seek strength." Komaru-sensei says, looking at Susumu, acknowledging the fact that the Nara clan is not only known for it's genius members, but also it's laziness as well. Susumu frowns and folds his arms. "For example, if Susumu's weakness lies in strength, he should train himself every day."<br>"Yeah! Instead of that boring cloud watching you do." I say. Susumu rolls his eyes.  
>"And if you have both Heaven and Earth attributes, any dangerous missions will become safe." Komaru-sensei says.<br>"But what about that missing letter?" Susumu asks.  
>"It's the letter that symbolizes a Chuunin. The 'human' that was in here goes in there." He says, holding up the Earth scroll where the word 'human' used to be. "The survival mission you took part in these past five days tested the basic abilities of the examinees as a Chuunin, and you guys completed it. Now never forget that Chuunin principal and go on to the next step. That's all I was ordered to tell you."<br>"Yosh! We passed!" I cheer.  
>"Now listen up you three. The next exam will be held some place secret. So in two days from now, meet me at Ichiraku's about 2pm and I'll let you know where to go. And be sure to train up in the meantime." Komaru-sensei says.<br>"Yosh! You can count on me sensei!" I cheer.

The next day I was out of bed just before sunrise, as usual, and after dressing into my ninja attire, I run downstairs to see Takashi was already up. His toast already sitting nicely buttered on the table while he was making himself a cup of coffee. He's so gullible. I run past the table, stealing his toast and bolting out the door before he realizes.

I begin walking down the street when suddenly someone jumps down in front of me, stopping me in my tracks.  
>"Good morning Setsuki-san!" He speaks, a thumbs up right in front of my face.<br>"Oh! Lee-san!" I exclaim, smiling.  
>"You are indeed up early, where are you headed?" He asks.<br>"To the training grounds of course." I answer. "The Third Exam is in two days from now, so I gotta prepare." I say then take a bite of the toast.  
>"Indeed you are smart Setsuki-san! Er, may I accompany you there?" He asks. I nod, knowing that I don't have to go there completely by myself. "How was the Second Exam for you?"<br>"Oh it was a cinch! At the start, we found one of the rookie squads and took their scroll which was another Earth scroll, then on the last day we found a squad with two Heaven scrolls and did an exchange then passed!" I explain.  
>"Wow, you make it sound so easy." He says, slightly amazed.<br>"How was it for you?" I ask. He took a breath, I was in for a lot of listening.

"And if Neji and Tenten had not of shown up, I would have been defeated." He says, mumbling the word defeated like he was embarrassed.  
>"So, Sakura-chan really was lucky you showed up then huh?" I say. "If you hadn't of shown up she'd be in serious trouble! You may have proven your worth to her!" That appeared to raise his spirit. He gets a fist of courage and faces me.<br>"You know what? You are right Setsuki-san! Perhaps next time she might say yes!" He says. I smile.  
>"I hope she does!" I say.<br>"Thank you Setsuki-san!" He says.  
>"Lee-san, I'll race you to the training grounds!" I say after eating the last bite of my toast. He got fire in his eyes.<br>"Challenge accepted!" He says, then we both start running. Lee flew ahead, I have never seen someone so fast, then again I remember when he went to get be bandages, he is pretty fast. I had just gotten myself into something that is impossible to win, and even worse, he's way ahead, I'll be alone getting there. I sigh to myself.  
>Suddenly I was face to face with him, I stop just in time before I hit him. My eyes went wide from the shock. "Setsuki-san, I do not mean to offend you, but you are slow.. I got there and waited but you never came, so I came looking." He says, scratching the back of his neck. I look down.<br>"Yeah... I'm slow." I say.  
>"Oh, uhh.. I did not mean to make you sad.. I am sorry, as punishment I will do 5000 push ups!" He says, then falls down to his hands and begins.<br>"Uhh L-Lee-san, you don't have to!" I say, he looks up at me with that 'are you sure?' expression. I smile. "Yes it's fine Lee."  
>"Oh, well in that case let us go to the training grounds together!" He says, jumping to his feet. I nod.<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

We get to the training ground and face each other. Lee looks at my hands. "Are your burns all healed?" He inquires. I nod.  
>"Yeah, Gai-san's ointment was really effective!" I say. Lee grins.<br>"Of course. Gai-sensei has only the best!" He says. "Oh, do you have any other wounds?"  
>"Nope!" I answer. He smiles then gets into his fighting stance.<br>"That is good to hear! Let us spar then, considering we did not get to last time." He says. I nod and get into my fighting stance – stand there and look at him. "Come at me when you are ready."  
>"Yosh!" I say, then run at him. I kept his speed in mind, so I had to somehow work around that. I get to him and go to throw a punch, but like last time he disappears an inch before I hit him.<br>I turn around fast and block his incoming kick. He jumps back off my arm, landing a few meters away.  
>"You must be quick to have seen that coming Setsuki-san!" Lee says. I felt happy to be complimented at this early hour. The sun was beginning to rise in the distance. I clap my hands together, getting an idea. Water would slow him down.<br>"Water Style: Water Shockwave Jutsu!" I say, then a spiralling vortex of water circles around me. Lee gives this a curious look, yet at the same time, looks like he's planning something. The top of the vortex began to explode from the top, and I direct the wave toward him. Lee had a look of unexpectancy to this manoeuvre and jumps back, but the wave had already snuck behind him, so he slips and falls over. I wave my arm across the front of me, causing the water to levitate over him. I then drop my arm down, manipulating the water to do the same, but Lee disappears before it fell. Yet again, he's out of sight. I hate not being able to keep an eye on my opponent. But then I heard footsteps splashing in the water and look up to where the water is still falling from the vortex, Lee was running up it. My eyes lock onto him, and I use the water to grab his ankle. He falls again and I try to capture him with the water, but he does a spinning kick to free himself. He lands on the ground in front of me, and the water finishes falling. I run at him, knowing the ground around us is wet and slippery, but there's no way I can slip on it, after all, it _is my_ chakra in it.  
>Lee catches my fist as I go to punch him, and I could not get free. He brings his knee up to hit my stomach, but as he did I quickly mutter "Ninja Art: Water Substitution Jutsu." then turn into water. I look up at him from the puddle I am. His expression shows his confusion. I jump up from the puddle and tackle him, the water helps hold him down too.<br>"Aha! Got you!" I exclaim. Lee seems shocked at first but then smiles.  
>"You are indeed clever and your moves are very unorthodox. You are quite the challenge, but I have one thing to tell you Setsuki-san." He says. I blink.<br>"What's that?" I ask. He gets a smug smile.  
>"You have not won." He says. I pout.<br>"But I have you pinned, you cannot move. I've won!" I exclaim. Lee shakes his head.  
>"But you do not understand, I never give up!" He says, then suddenly he manages to free his right hand and whack it across my stomach, making me fall sideways. Lee then twists his arms around, grabbing both my wrists then pinning them against the dry part of the ground, and traps my feet by pushing his ankles down on top of them, I could not move except for my head. My eyes went wide at the sudden movement. "So therefore, I win!" He says.<br>"H-how did you..?" I stutter form shock. I notice he is panting slightly, and water drips from his hair to my face, but it didn't bother me. Then I notice I was panting heavily, I guess my concentration took my attention away from me being exhausted.  
>"Well well, isn't this an interesting sight." We both hear. Lee immediately looks up, his face went red and he jumps up and extends a hand to help me up and looks the other way like he was embarrassed. I take his hand and he pulls me up. I turn and see Gai-san. He had an odd smirk on his face.<br>"Lee, Setsuki, it seems you two have become good friends hm?" Gai says.  
>"E-err n-no Gai-sensei, it is not like that!" Lee implies, his face still red.<br>"What are you talking about? Of course we're friends.. right?" I ask Lee. His face snaps to me.  
>"O-of course we are! But it is just what Gai-sensei meant.. that is all.." Lee says, then looks down embarrassed, his face still red. Did my water perhaps make him sick or something? I blink.<br>"Meant? He meant friends right?" I ask, looking at Gai. They both give me a look as if to say 'wow..'. Gai begins to chuckle.  
>"Don't worry about it Setsuki-san. Now what were you two doing anyway?" He asks.<br>"You should have seen us! We sparred and Lee-san kicked my butt!" I exclaim.  
>"O-oh, I would not say that Setsuki-san, you put up a good fight. It was quite a challenge." Lee says.<br>"Oh yes? Is that right? Hm. Well then it's not often Lee finds someone challenging." Gai says.  
>"Really? You're <em>that<em> strong?" I ask Lee. Lee scratches his cheek modestly.  
>"Uhh.. I guess so." Lee says, then laughs nervously.<br>"So, sparring were you? Good work!" Gai says, giving us both a thumbs up. "It's nice to see you both making the most of your youth!"  
>"Thank you Gai-sensei!" Lee says. I just smile. I had no idea I was being youthful.<br>"Setsuki, how would you like to train with us for the day?" Gai asks.  
>"Oh! I would love to!" I exclaim.<br>"Yosh! Gai-sensei! Can Setsuki-san please be my training partner?" Lee pleads.  
>"Of course she can! That is, if you want to be Setsuki." Gai says. I nod.<br>"Of course! However I want to get to know your fighting style Setsuki, so I'll have you spar against both Neji and Tenten as well." Gai says. I nod.  
>"Sounds great!" I say. Lee puts a hand on my shoulder.<br>"You will do great Setsuki-san!" Lee says, giving me the nice guy pose. I smile back.  
>"Speaking of which..." Gai says then looks around. "Where are those two? They are late!"<br>"Should we go find them Gai-sensei?" Lee asks. Gai sighs.  
>"No it's fine. I will let you two have a small break until they get here. You do look pretty warn out." Gai says. Lee and I jump onto a nearby rock, sitting on it, leaning against each other's backs.<p>

About an hour later, Lee and I had fallen asleep in the same positions, my head was resting on his shoulder, and his was on mine, both our faces facing the now lit sky and we snore.  
>"Tehehe they look so cute." Tenten giggles. "Gai-sensei do we have to wake them up?"<br>"Yes we do Tenten, as 'cute' as they may seem like that." Gai says. Tenten sighs.  
>"Alright alright." She says then walks over, and nudges my arm. "Hey Setsuki-san wake up." She says, then pushes Lee off the rock, making me fall backwards from losing the person holding me up, and hit my head.<br>"Ow-"  
>"GAHHH!" Lee cries, waking me wide up. I sit up.<br>"I DIDN'T DO IT!" I exclaim. Lee jumps up to his feet.  
>"NEITHER DID I!" Lee exclaims. We blink a few times then see Tenten laughing hysterically, Gai chuckling and Neji standing there frowning. I sweatdrop.<br>"Did something happen?" I ask.  
>"Oh Setsuki." Tenten says between laughs and tries to calm down a bit.<br>"Right, now that you two are awake, we can begin training!" Gai says, beckoning the two of us. Lee and I run over to him. "Riiight! Now, first up! Lee you need more agility, you will be sparring against Neji first. Therefore, Setsuki you will be sparring against Tenten so I can observe your abilities against weapons."  
>"Yes Gai-sensei!" Lee and I say in unison.<br>"Oh goodie! I finally get to spar a girl this time! Things should be less stressful now." Tenten says, smiling.  
>"Why's that?" I ask. Tenten blinks.<br>"Well surely you're not as strong as Lee or even Neji." She says, smiling a little when she said Neji. I felt offended and look down.  
>"I almost beat Lee though." I say.<br>"You.. what?" She asks.  
>"Yes! It is true Tenten! Setsuki-san almost had me!" Lee says, backing me up. Tenten sweatdrops.<br>"Great.." She groans.  
>"Yosh! Lets begin then!" I say.<br>"Haha! Full of eagerness! Tenten you need to be as determined as Setsuki!" Gai says.  
>"Ugh, yes Gai-sensei.." She groans.<br>"THAT WAS NOT AVID ENOUGH TENTEN!" Gai scolds.  
>"A-ah! Okay okay! Um, yes Setsuki! Lets start!" Tenten says, her voice more enthusiastic this time. Gai gives her a thumbs up.<br>"Thats more like it!" Gai says. Tenten rolls her eyes and grabs hold of the big scroll tied to her back. I look cautiously at it.  
>"Okay Setsuki, I'll tell you now. I work with weapons, so when I open this scroll over a thousand kunai, shuriken and other things will come flying out." Tenten explains.<br>"Uh huh. Well bring it on!" I say, mentally preparing my Water Substitution Jutsu. Tenten nods and Gai, Lee and Neji stand back to watch.  
>Tenten nods to say she is ready and grabs the scroll to open it. I nod back, confirming I am ready. She rips the scroll open, and in a puff of smoke, hundreds of weapons come 2speeding out really fast. I close my eyes and allow them all to hit me, however because I have activated my Water Substitution Jutsu, it did not hurt a bit. After everything hit, my body collapses into a puddle of water, all the weapons fell as well. Tenten gasps and looks around. I move myself in the puddle form around to the water already on the grass.<br>"Oh! This is how Setsuki-san got me as well!" Lee calls out. I jump up, reforming myself behind Tenten, then send a kick to her back, making her fall over.  
>"Water Style: Water Whip Jutsu!" I say, placing my hands in a Jutsu sign. A literal whip made of water appears coiled up in my hand. By now Tenten had jumped to her feet and facing me. She pulls a three-section staff out from a pouch attached to her pants, then snaps it together to make it one long staff. She spins it around in her hand really fast, preparing for my next move.<br>I swing my arm and crack the whip toward her. She steadies herself and swings the staff and hits the whip so it wraps around it, then she pulls the staff toward her, which also pulls on the whip which I am holding, thus I was forced forward. She was about to lunge at me when I put my hands together in another jutsu sign. "Multi Water Clone Jutsu!" I create about 50 clones, making her spin around in confusion. "Attack!" I command, the 51 of us attack at once, really beating her up.

After Tenten falls over from exhaustion, I release the clones and stand there panting a little. Tenten, battered up on the ground, lays there panting heavily and unable to move.  
>"Al..right.. you... win.." She groans between breaths. I smile and extend a hand. She effortfully reaches and grabs my hand, and I pull her up. I help her over to a rock and she sits down.<br>"That was a splendid win!" Gai says, giving me the nice guy pose.  
>"Thank you Gai-sensei." I say, smiling.<br>"Now, you deserve a break. Lee, Neji! Your turn!" Gai says, pointing to the duo beside him. Lee raises a fist to the air and gets fire in his eyes.  
>"Yosh! Neji! I will beat you this time!" Lee exclaims. Neji gets an irritated look and folds his arms.<br>"Lee, destiny has already decided that you will lose to me." Neji grumbles.  
>"Neji you are sadly mistaken! I <em>will<em> defeat you this time!" Lee exclaims. Neji glares at his teammate.  
>"Are you trying to go against your own destiny?" Neji inquires in a hissy voice.<br>"Stop your arguing and get along for once." Gai grumbles.  
>"Oh.. I am sorry Gai-sensei!" Lee says, bowing respectively to his sensei. I sit down beside Tenten as they get into position. Lee got into his fighting stance, and Neji got into his.<p>

Their spar dragged out for what felt like forever, but it never got dull. Watching Lee skilfully fight the way he does was fascinating, and whenever I glimpse at Tenten she's always watching Neji.  
>"Just face it Lee, you're no match for me!" Neji growls.<br>"Neji.. I.. will.. win!" Lee pants, returning to his fighting stance, panting heavily. Neji was panting himself but not quite as badly.  
>"Lee's always like this.." Tenten grumbles. I look at her. "Always pushing himself past his limits. He should just admit that he's lost." I frown slightly.<br>"But Tenten, Lee is just.. um.. trying to prove his worth." I say. She looks at me.  
>"Prove his worth? Geez that's what he's always on about. He's gonna prove that he'll be an excellent ninja just by using Taijutsu alone." She says, then sighs while shaking her head. "It's seriously a joke. I mean, sure he's gotten this far but-"<br>"Wait a minute, what do you mean by Taijutsu alone? Why doesn't he use his ninjutsu or genjutsu?" I ask. She blinks.  
>"He hasn't told you?" She asks.<br>"Told me what?" I ask.  
>"Oh. Well you see Lee can't-"<br>"Gaahh!" Lee cries then the next thing I know Lee knocks me over by colliding into me.  
>"Oomph!" I grunt, sliding across the ground. I sit up and Lee's head slid down my stomach onto my lap. His eyes are closed and he looks weakened. "Lee!" I say, but there was no reaction. Tenten jumps up and leans her head down on his chest.<br>"Yeah he's breathing." She says. I carefully slide out from under him and lay his head down gently. I look over to Neji who was panting and getting a smug look.  
>"What's wrong?" Gai asks, running over and kneeling down.<br>"He seems to be unconscious sensei." Tenten says.  
>"Unconscious? Neji!" Gai scolds.<br>"Hmph, he should've defended himself better." Neji huffs. Gai sighs.  
>"Does he have any injuries?" Gai asks.<br>"Um.. I don't know." Tenten says.  
>"I can check." I say, both faces turn to me. I do a few hand signs and my hands glow green, and I search all over him for any injuries, but apart from a few bruises, nothing too major. "He's fine.."<br>"You know medical ninjutsu?" Gai asks.  
>"Um yeah, my father taught me when I was little, then my uncle taught me from then on." I explain.<br>"What do you mean by 'then on'?" Tenten asks. Gai seemed interested too.  
>"Um.. dad.. died when I was little. I don't remember what happened, it was too long ago but that's what uncle told me." I explain.<br>"I'm sorry to hear that.." Gai says.  
>"It's okay. I hardly remember him anyway..." I say, lying a little just to lower the tension.<br>"Hm. Well lets put him in the shade and let him rest." Gai says.  
>"Alright." I say, then I help Gai carry him to under a small hunched tree.<p>

I walk over to Neji who was standing away from everyone with his arms folded. "Um Neji-san?" I ask.  
>"Hmph, what do you want?" He huffs.<br>"Why did you hit Lee so badly that he became unconscious?" I ask.  
>"That's his fault, not mine. I told him to quit but he refused, that is the consequence. Now leave me alone." He huffs then begins walking away, I sigh and walk back over to Lee and the others. I kneel down beside Tenten, looking at Lee. Lee begins groaning in his sleep and spreads an arm out and turns his head the other way.<br>"Gai-sensei... I can do it... let me... do it.." Lee groans. I smile, he seemed perfectly okay.  
>"Well that means he wont be asleep for much longer." Tenten says with a giggle.<br>"So what's up with Neji? Is he always moody?" I ask. Tenten doesn't say anything. "Tenten?"  
>"Well.. he's just had a bad past, that's all. He's slowly getting better though.. I think." She says.<br>"Bad past?" I ask. Tenten shakes her head.  
>"He never talks about it." She says then sighs. "I kinda wish I could do something to help him but I don't know what."<br>"Do you like him?" I ask. Her face tints slightly pink and her expression turns to slight shock.  
>"I-in what way? I consider him a friend for sur-" She stops once she sees my smirk. ".. Don't tell anyone, especially Lee. But yes.. I do.." She admits, her cheeks turning pink. I smile.<br>"That's great Tenten! Does he know?" I ask. Her eyes widen.  
>"NO! Don't you dare tell him!" She says. I laugh.<br>"It's okay I wont I wont!" I exclaim. "But why not Lee?" Her pleading eyes turn into a glare.  
>"Tell him and I'll never hear the end of it. And neither will you." She warns. "If he were to find out he'd.. ughh.." She shivers.<br>"He'd what?" I ask.  
>"He-"<br>"Ahhh, good morning." Lee says, sitting up and yawning while stretching his arms. I smile, forgetting about what me and Tenten were just talking about.  
>"Afternoon." I reply. Lee blinks a few times.<br>"Afternoon?" Lee asks, then he gasps in horror. "DID I SLEEP IN!" He asks, his hands on my shoulders and shaking me back and forth while fretting. I felt dizzy now.  
>"Nnnooo I waassss beeeing sillyyy.." I groan while being shaken back and forth. Lee blinks and lets out a sigh of relief and lets go. I fall over.<br>"Huh? Oh, sorry about that Setsuki-san." Lee says then looks around. "What happened?"  
>"Uh, Neji knocked you out.. again." Tenten says.<br>"I see... Well then I must become stronger! I will become a splendid shinobi one day! I cannot let one defeat stand in my way!" Lee exclaims then jumps to his feet. Tenten sighs and shakes her head. I stand up too.  
>"Lee you don't look so good, you look like your about to fall over." I say.<br>"I am fine. No need to worry." Lee says, giving me the nice guy pose. Then his stomach growls and I sweatdrop.  
>"Have you had breakfast today Lee?" Tenten asks.<br>"No.." Lee admits. Tenten shakes her head in disappointment. "I was rushing this morning, I guess I forgot.."  
>"Ramen?" I suggest. "I can cook!"<br>"You can? That would be great Setsuki-san! Thank you!" Lee says, becoming rather happy.  
>"Yeah! Do you like Miso Ramen?" I ask, knowing that is the only Ramen I can cook properly.<br>"Yes! Miso Ramen is fine! Can you add anything spicy to it by any chance?" He asks. It clicked.  
>"That's right! You were the one who used to come to the spice shop all the time! I remember now! I can't believe I didn't recognize you! You're like our best customer!" I exclaim.<br>"... What?" Lee asks, completely clueless.  
>"You always order the Medium Spicy Curry!" I mention.<br>"How do you know?" He asks.  
>"Because I'm the one who cooked it for you." I say, smiling proudly to myself. His jaw drops.<br>"Y.. You made it!" Lee questions with great shock. I nod, still smiling. "Setsuki-san! I love you!" He says, then hugs me. I blink. Tenten giggles.  
>"How cute." She says.<br>"Um.. y-yeah, I like you too.. Lee." I say, kinda freaked out about the whole hugging thing. Lee lets go of me and stands there.  
>"Uhh, sorry about that.. Just kinda got carried away." He says, scratching the back of his neck. I smile, I'm glad I'm not the only one who randomly hugs people when I get over-happy.<br>"That's fine Lee! Now lets go make some spicy ramen!" I say.  
>"Ye-what? Spicy.. ramen?" Tenten asks.<br>"It's a combination of both spicy curry and ramen!" I say.  
>"THAT SOUNDS DELICIOUS!" Lee exclaims.<br>"I KNOW! IT WILL BE AN INTERESTING THING TO MAKE!" I say.  
>"STOP YELLING!" Tenten shouts.<br>"Oh, sorry." Lee says, bowing to her. Then I had an idea.  
>"Lee I have an idea!" I say.<br>"What is it?" He asks.  
>"We should all have breakfast together!" I say.<br>".. We are, are we not?" Lee asks.  
>"With Sakura-chan." I say. His cheeks tint red and his eyes turn to hearts.<br>"Sakura-chan.. breakfast... YOSHHH! That is an excellent idea Setsuki-san!" Lee says. Tenten rolls her eyes.  
>"I will go find her!" I say.<br>"But don't you need to cook?" Tenten asks.  
>"What are you youthful children talking about?" Gai asks.<br>"We're having breakfast together!" I exclaim.  
>"Oooh! Would you like to come Gai-sensei?" Lee asks.<br>"Hm. I think I will pass this time, but next time I will surely be there!" Gai says.  
>"Why is that?" Lee asks.<br>"Well I have been thinking." He says.  
>"About..?" I ask. Gai gives me a thumbs up to my face.<br>"Kakashi-san's challenge for today!" He says. I tilt my head, Tenten sighs and lowers her head and Lee gets excited.  
>"What is it Gai-sensei!" Lee inquires, full of excitement. Gai grins while scratching his chin, then gives us the nice guy pose, his teeth sparkle as they do.<br>"I have decided on a race!" He exclaims. Lee fists the air.  
>"Yahoo! You can do it Gai-sensei! I know you will win!" Lee cheers.<br>"Really? A race against Kakashi-sensei? What kind of race?" I ask, becoming interested.  
>"A race do to one hundreeeeed push ups!" He exclaims. I blink, Kakashi doing push ups? No way..<br>"Now you kids have fun on this gathering, won't you?" Gai says. The three of us nod.  
>"Yes Gai-sensei!" We say in unison.<p>

"Where are we going?" Lee asks.  
>"To my house." I answer, leading them both through the streets.<br>"What about Sakura-chan?" Lee asks.  
>"Oh yeah! Water Clone Jutsu!" I say, doing the hand sign, creating a clone. "You have to find Sakura-chan and bring her to my house!"<br>"Yosh!" My clone replies with a salute then jumps off somewhere.  
>"Oooh! Water clones! I wish I could do that." Lee says. "In fact! I will do that!" Lee says, then does the same hand sign I did. "Water Clone Jutsu!" He says, but nothing happened.<br>"Are you sure you have a Water Nature?" I ask.  
>"A Water Nature?" Lee asks. Tenten sighs then explains to him about the five different elements. During that time, Lee got a small notebook out and wrote down everything Tenten said, and judging from how fast he was writing, he probably wrote every word down.<br>"So how did you find out you had Water Nature Setsuki?" Lee asks. I scratch my head.  
>"Uhh I don't really know.. Uncle Takashi told me I take after my dad, so he said I should try Water Jutsus and well, yeah." I say.<br>"Oh. Oh! What if I try Water Jutsus? I might be a water user too!" Lee exclaims. "Setsuki! What is a water jutsu?"  
>"Umm, well you could try a simple one like, Water Style: Water Gun Jutsu!" I say, performing the five hand signs then spitting out water like a hose. Lee's eye twitches.<br>"I can do that! Please wait right here!" Lee says, then jumps away somewhere excitedly. Tenten sweatdrops.  
>"What's he going to do?" I ask.<br>"That particular Jutsu you just showed him." She replies.  
>"But.. why did he-" I stop talking once Lee jumps down in front of us, holding up his index finger, indicating for us to watch. Lee does the same five hand signs, then spits out water like I just did, but it didn't go quite as far as mine. I heard a slap behind me, Tenten had facepalmed herself.<br>"See? I did it Setsuki!" Lee says, performing a small victory dance.  
>"That was great Lee!" I say.<br>"Thank you Setsuki!" Lee says.  
>"Lee you moron." Tenten groans. We both face her. "You just got a handful of water and spat it out didn't you?" Tenten asks. Lee tenses up for a second staring at his teammate. Tenten raises an eyebrow.<br>"N.. no." Lee finally says. "Of course not Tenten!"  
>"You don't sound so sure." Tenten says, smirking slightly. Lee whines and lowers his head.<br>"Okay I did.." He says.  
>"Wow really? You had me fooled." I say, completely honest. I thought he actually did manage to perform the jutsu.<br>"Seriously?" Tenten asks in a groaning tone. I nod then I open my mouth to say something when Lee's stomach growls, interrupting my thoughts. Lee holds his stomach.  
>"Food!" I say then start running, beckoning them. Lee runs beside me while Tenten took a while to catch up.<p>

We get to my house, uncle Takashi was on the recliner, in his gown, a newspaper over him and snoring. "GOOD MORNING UNCLE TAKASHI!" I shout, making him jump to the roof and cling to the ceiling fan. Tenten sweatdrops, Lee blinks and I smile and wave innocently.  
>"S-Setsuki? Who's your friends?" Takashi asks, jumping down from the fan and landing on his butt. "This is Tenten, and Rock Lee." I introduce. "Oh and this is my uncle, Takashi."<br>"Nice to meet you!" Lee says, walking over to him and extending a hand. Takashi takes his hand and Lee pulls him up then shakes his hand.  
>"Uh yeah. You too sonny." Takashi says. "... Why are you all here?"<br>"For breakfast!" I exclaim.  
>"Breakfast..? Geez, you could have said so, I would've prepared it." Takashi says.<br>"I'm cooking though." I say.  
>"Alright alright, go ahead.. But if you dare turn the stove up like you did the other day, you're in big trouble." He warns, even pointing a finger at me. I raise my hands innocently.<br>"I promise I wont!" I say. He gives a slight glare to me then goes upstairs to the bathroom.  
>"Turn the stove up?" Tenten asks, concerned. I smile.<br>"Big flames!" I say, expanding my arms out. She sweatdrops. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Oh, make yourselves at home." I say, pointing to the joined kitchen and loungeroom. Lee and Tenten sit at the table while I answer the door to Sakura-chan. "Sakura-chan! Glad you could make it! Come in!" I say, beckoning her and stepping aside. She smiles softly as usual.  
>"Yes, I haven't had breakfast yet so I thought why not?" She says, walking in. We walk into room together and I think Sakura nearly had a heart attack when she saw Lee. "L-Lee-san..!" Lee looks up and his cheeks go pink.<br>"Sakura-san!" He says, standing up. I smile.  
>"Oh yeah, I guess I didn't mention about having my other friends over..." I say, scratching my cheek innocently as I notice my clone didn't tell her. Sakura stood there frozen.<br>"U-uhh, th.. that's alright." Sakura stutters then sits down at the table. Lee sits back down.  
>"Lee? Are you sick?" I ask, noting his red face.<br>"Huh? Oh, no I am fine!" Lee implies.  
>"So in that case, I'll start cooking! Spicy Ramen for all!" I exclaim.<br>"What! Ramen for breakfast? You're as bad as Naruto!" Sakura groans.  
>"Oh yeah, you don't like spicy stuff do you... hmmm.." I begin thinking.<br>"How about something normal? Like you know, cereal or something?" Sakura asks.  
>"Yosh! Cereal! Oh Tenten?" I ask.<br>"Yeah?"  
>"... What do you want?" I ask.<br>"Oh! Right! Umm.. Anything is fine." She says.  
>"Wow you could work at a restaurant using that kind of attitude Setsuki." Sakura says. I blink.<br>"I was.." I mention.  
>"Really?"<br>"Yeah.. well! Food!" I say then go into the kitchen and begin cooking.  
>"O-oh Setsuki! Remember, don't turn it up too much!" Tenten calls.<br>"I know!" I call back.

I bring out four bowls, two spicy ramen for Lee and I, one Miso ramen for Tenten, and cereal for Sakura then sit down. We all begin eating.  
>"Setsuki!" Lee suddenly says, his face red.<br>"What is it?" I ask, my face red too from the spiciness.  
>"This is.. the most delicious thing I have ever tasted!" Lee says, then slurps up more noodles. I laugh and do the same.<br>"I'm glad you like it!" I say between mouthfuls.  
>"Oh um.. Lee-san?" Sakura says, twirling her spoon around in her bowl. Lee looks at her.<br>"Yes Sakura?" He asks. She didn't lift her head.  
>"Um.. I just wanna say thanks.. for helping me at the exam." Sakura says. Lee's cheeks turn bright pink, contrasting with his red face from the spicy ramen. Lee swallows his mouthful, ready to speak, I smile.<br>"I-it was no problem Sakura-chan!" He says. Sakura smiles to herself, and takes a bite of her cereal. I pout a little. Sitting beside Lee, I give him a quick nudge with my elbow, making him look at me, I then gesture to Sakura as if to say 'go on'. "Uh... S-Sakura-chan?" Lee asks, facing her. She looks up at him.  
>"Yes?"<br>"... Would you, consider.. going on a date with me?" Lee asks. Sakura nearly drops her spoon.  
>"U-umm... I don't know.. I mean, you're not really.. my type.." She says. I frown at her.<br>"Oh.. I understand.." Lee says, looking down at his bowl, it was like his spirit had just been crushed.  
>"Don't worry Lee.. maybe next time.." I whisper to him. Lee nods slowly, probably doubting it.<br>"Um.. well, Kakashi-sensei will probably be there by now.. so I better get going." Sakura says then stands up. "Um thanks for breakfast Setsuki." Sakura says then shows herself out.  
>"Oh.. yeah... bye Sakura." I mutter.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

So we finish breakfast, then Lee decided that we'd go training again. Of course, Lee challenged me to another race there, so I accepted.  
>"3.. 2.. 1.. GO!" I call, my clone comes out of no where, and begins running alongside Lee to make him think I'm actually running with him, but the real me was walking with Tenten.<br>When Lee was out of sight, Tenten began talking to me again, bringing up the topic we were on before.  
>"Uh yeah, so as I was saying before, when you asked about Lee's ninjutsu and genjutsu, the problem is.. well, basically, he cannot do any ninjutsu or genjutsu." She says.<br>"Can't? What do you mean he can't?" I ask.  
>"Well, he can't focus his chakra very good and no matter how hard he tried in the academy, he could never ever perform any ninjutsu not even the cloning jutsu." She explains.<br>"Really? ..." I reply, then look ahead, the way Lee and my clone took off. I felt bad for him, it must be hard.  
>"All he knows his taijutsu. It's kind of a joke really, he believes he can become a ninja just with taijutsu, but seriously, it's not gonna happen." Tenten says.<br>"But what about Gai-sensei? Isn't he a taijutsu specialist?" I ask.  
>"Yeah, but Gai-sensei can actually focus and control his chakra, whereas Lee can't." Tenten answers.<br>"Then why doesn't Gai-sensei do ninjutsu?" I ask.  
>"Because of Lee. He says he is just like Lee to boost Lee's hopes." Tenten says. I had doubts.<br>"Kakashi-san!" We hear. We turn around to see Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei standing in front of each other. Gai gave Kakashi a thumbs up to his face. "It's that time again eternal rival!"  
>"Oh.. great.." Kakashi replies.<br>"Hey lets go see!" I say, then before Tenten could say anything, I grab her wrist and drag her over.  
>"Aha! We have quite the audience today Kakashi-san!" Gai says. I notice Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are standing there too. Sakura's eyes wonder. Kakashi lets out a sigh.<br>"What is it today Gai?" Kakashi inquires. Gai points to Kakashi.  
>"I challenge you, to a push up race! Lets say 100 push ups!" Gai says. Kakashi sighs.<br>"Ugh Gai, push ups? Seriously?" Kakashi groans.  
>"Yes! Unless of course you have something better in mind!" Gai exclaims.<br>"Hm." Kakashi replies, then puts his fist out. "I challenge you to scissors, paper rock." Kakashi says. Gai's face became straight.  
>"... Very well! If I lose I'll do 500 laps around the village.. on my hands!" Gai says. Kakashi sweatdrops.<br>"Alright then." Kakashi agrees. Tenten sighs.  
>"That's Gai-sensei always making simple things extreme.." She grumbles, burying her head in her hand. The duo shake their fists three times, then it results in Gai – Scissors, Kakashi – Rock. Gai sighs in defeat.<br>"Um how about you make it the best of three?" I suggest. Gai nods.  
>"Great idea! How about it Kakashi? You feeling up to it?" He asks, facing Kakashi.<br>"Yeah whatever." Kakashi replies.

Gai – Rock, Kakashi – Paper

Gai – Paper, Kakashi – Scissors

Gai – Rock – Kakashi – Paper

Gai lowers his head in defeat. "Next time you will win for sure Gai-sensei!" I say. He looks up and smiles at me, then gives me a thumbs up.  
>"Thank you Setsuki. Now, to complete these 500 laps!" Gai says, then does a hand stand and begins walking on his hands. I was in awe, how on Earth could he do that?<br>"Come on Setsuki, Lee will be wondering where we are." Tenten says, grabbing my wrist. I nod and the two of us rush off to the training grounds.

On the way there my clone must have disappeared because I just got hit with some information. I felt bad, Lee told my clone that he will never give up on his dream to become a shinobi.  
>"Tenten hurry up." I say, running faster.<br>"Huh? H-hey! Slow down!" Tenten calls, trying to catch up.

I make it to the training ground a few minutes later, Lee was standing around surrounded by a puddle of water, he must have started a spar with my clone and she got destroyed. He was looking around at the water carefully, possibly waiting for me to pop up at any moment. I raise the water up with my hand, then jump down behind it so he couldn't see me, but it caught his attention. I run out at him. Lee of course, was ready for any attack. He caught my fist and went to counterattack, but I manage to catch his fist.  
>"You have suddenly become very fast." Lee comments.<br>"Yes! I was going easy on you, now it's time to get serious!" I say. Lee smirks.  
>"Yosh! Bring it on Setsuki-san!" Lee says, then goes to jump back, but I kept my grip on his fist firm. I smirk back.<br>"If you can get free." I mention.  
>"Now you are underestimating me." Lee says. I shake my head.<br>"I never underestimate!" I proclaim. Lee nods then tries to break out of my grip again, unsuccessfully. He raises an eyebrow.  
>"Your grip sure is strong." He says.<br>"Thanks." I reply, then I couldn't help the notice the small smirk come across his face. He was up to something. He repositions his feet, then suddenly lets go of my fist, then with his free hand whacks across my stomach, making me flinch and let go of his hand. He then jumps back and into his fighting stance.  
>"But not strong enough." He says. I rub my stomach for a second.<br>"Guys do you have to spar all the time?" Tenten asks, finally arriving.  
>"But-"<br>"No buts Lee! You two should be resting and reserving your energy for tomorrow." Tenten says.  
>"I just.. want to-"<br>"Lee stop back answering, seriously there's no harm in resting!" Tenten groans. I sigh.  
>"Come on Lee, we're not going to get out of this." I say. Lee reluctantly nods and follows us as we find a nice dry grassy field far from the village and we lay down. I lay down beside Lee, Tenten lays down on the other side of me. Lee had both hands behind his head looking up at the clouds, I had one hand behind my head and one on my stomach, and Tenten lays on her stomach playing with a kunai.<br>It didn't take too long for me to fall asleep.

"Setsuki.. Setsuki wake up.." I felt my arm being shaken slightly. I open my eyes slowly and tiredly. "Setsuki.."  
>"Hnnn.." I groan, wanting to sleep. Then I realized that wasn't Uncle Takashi's tone. My eyes snap open and I sit up. I look around, seeing the starry sky, and I felt cold. I saw Lee kneeling down, his hand on my arm gently. "Wha..?"<br>"We overslept." He says, removing his hand from my arm to scratch the back of his neck shyly.  
>"Overslept!" I question then jump to my feet. I look to Tenten curled up in a ball. I rub my eyes and yawn.<br>"Um yes. I think the sun is going to rise soon.." Lee says standing up.  
>"Rise? Jeepers how long were we asleep for?" I ask.<br>"Um. A while.." Lee says.  
>"What's wrong?" I ask.<br>"N-nothing." He stutters, looking away from me. I shrug it off and look at Tenten and clear my throat.  
>"TENTEN WAKE UP!" I shout, making her eyes snap open and squirm around in fear.<br>"GAHHH!" She shrieks. Lee's eyes were wide too, I must've scared him too. I smirk, I love scaring people. She sits up breathing very fast. "Wh.. what happened?" She asks, staring at me with wide eyes from shock.  
>"We fell asleep and it's kinda.. early." I answer. I extend my hand, she takes it and I pull her up and she brushes grass off her pants. I look around for the way back to the village, after all, we wondered pretty far, and with this very dim light it's hard to see. Though the sky in the far distance and a faint orange glow.<br>"Lee? Why are you blushing?" Tenten asks, capturing my attention. Lee's face tints pinker than before, even though I didn't even notice.  
>"Blushing?" I ask, leaning close to his face and squinting my eyes, his cheeks become slightly darker pink. He leans away from me.<br>"U-uh I am n-not blushing Tenten.." Lee says, getting freaked out from me leaning so close.  
>"Maybe he's just sick from being out in the cold. I know that people with red faces are usually sick." I mention. I feel his forehead.<br>"No I am fine.." Lee says, taking hold of my wrist and lowering my hand away slowly.  
>"He's blushing, that's what it is." Tenten says, smirking. Lee glares slightly at his teammate. Tenten giggles.<br>"But why?" I ask.  
>"Um.. lets head back." Lee says, then begins to walk.<br>"Uh Lee, the village is back that way." Tenten mentions, pointing the opposite way. Lee stops and turns around, walking in the way Tenten indicates. I follow along.  
>"Brrr it's cold." Tenten says, rubbing her arms.<br>"It's what you get for wearing sleeveless shirts." I mention. She frowns at me.  
>"Look who's talking." She groans, referring to my tank top.<br>"My fishnet has short sleeves! That counts right?" I mention, pointing to the fishnet t-shirt I'm wearing. She sighs.  
>"I'm not going there." She groans.<br>"Leeeee." I drawl out, jogging a few steps to walk beside him.  
>"Yes?" He asks, his face is back to normal.<br>"This is counted as a sleeve right?" I ask, pointing to my fishnet sleeves. Lee nods, then I poke my tongue out at Tenten. She raises a hand innocently.

We get back to the village just as the sun rose enough to light up the village slightly. I saw Gai-sensei, Uncle Takashi standing around the gate looking worried. I sweatdrop. Takashi may have been fretting all night about my absence..  
>"Uncle Takashi!" I call out, capturing their attention. Their eyes widen.<br>"LEE! TENTEN! SETSUKI!" Gai calls, then the duo run over to us. I open my mouth to say something when Takashi bear hugs me, and Gai gives both Lee and Tenten a hug, one of them in each arm.  
>"You had me so worried Setsuki! Where were you?" Takashi questions, letting me ago, allowing me to breathe again. I took a deep breath to regain my normal breathing pattern before talking.<br>"Uh well you see, we kinda wondered off then fell asleep and just woke up now..." I explain. Both Takashi and Gai let out a loud sigh of relief in complete unison, it was kinda scary.  
>"LEE WHAT WERE YOU DOING FALLING ASLEEP!" Gai scolds then goes to punch his student when I stand between them, making Gai redirect his punch to the air. I give him an innocent look.<br>"Please Gai-sensei, it was my fault, I suggested that we should relax and.. we fell asleep." I explain. Tenten gave me a surprised look, then looks eagerly at Gai. Gai sighs.  
>"Alright, but next time make sure you let someone know where you're going next time. We were up all night searching for you three." Gai says, sounding very serious which was a little scary to me, after all, I've only heard his carefree tone. I bow to him.<br>"Yes Gai-sensei." I reply.  
>".. Lee, Tenten, we have 5 hours until the Third Exam starts. I want you to prepare yourselves, go for a run around the village and get that adrenaline rising!" Gai says. There was a short moment of silence before Lee spoke up.<br>".. Yes Gai-sensei!" Lee says then jogs off into the village. Tenten sighs to herself then walks off after him.  
>"Yes, and as for you Setsuki, I want you to come home and freshen up a bit." Takashi says. I nod and start walking home with him.<p>

Five hours later the Third Exam was about to start. The squads that survived and passed the Second Exam are all lined up. I was surprised to see all the rookies had made it. At the front of us, a giant statue of hands making a jutsu sign. The Hokage was there, along with all the Jonin and some Chuunin.  
>"First off, congratulations on passing the Second Exam." Anko says. The Genin start talking amongst themselves. I heard Lee talking to himself so I decide to listen.<br>"Just watch, Gai-sensei... I will shine, too!" Lee says, his fists up to his face and his eyes on fire. I smile, he gets motivated so easily.  
>"We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam from Hokge-sama." Anko says. "Everyone listen well. Hokage-sama, please do the honours." She says, facing and bowing to him. The Hokage nods and steps forward.<br>"The Third Exam will begin. But before the explanation, there's one thing I want to make clear to all of you." He says. "It's about the true purpose of this exam. Why we do a joint exam with the allied nations. '_To maintain good relations with the allied nations._' and '_heighten the level of the ninja._' Do not let those reasons deceive you. This 'exam', so to speak, is.. The epitome of a war between the allied nations."  
>"What do you mean?" Tenten asks.<br>"If we go back through history, the allied nations right now were neighbouring countries that have fought each other over and over again." He replies. "To avoid wasting military power, those countries decided to choose a place to fight. That is the beginning of the Chuunin Exam Selection."  
>"Why do we have to do that?" Naruto questions. "We're not doing this to select Chuunins?"<br>"Yes, this exam does examine those who are worthy of the Chuunin title. But on the other hand, it's also a place where ninja fight and carry their country's dignity. In this Third Exam, feudal lords and famous people from various countries who may be potential clients are invited here as guests. Ans feudal lords from countries with hidden villages and ninja leaders will see your battles. There's a significant difference in power, the strong will be flooded with jobs. If a country is seen as weak, their jobs will decrease. And at the same time, countries are able to show how their village has grown and possess excellent military power to the adjacent countries. In other words, they can put foreign pressure on them." The Hokage explains.  
>"So why do we have to fight with the risk of losing our lives?" The dog boy asks.<br>"A country's power is the village's power. A village's power is the ninja's power. And a ninja's true power is only born in life-or-death battle. This Exam is also a place to show off the ninja power of one's country. Since this is an exam where you fight with your life on the line, it has a meaning.. And your predecessors have fought and dreamed of being in the Chuunin Exams because of it." The Hokage answers.  
>"But why do you say it is to promote good relations?" Tenten asks.<br>"I told you at the beginning to not get it confused with that. The custom of showing one's life and fighting to maintain balance.. That is the good relation in the world of ninja. This is a life-or-death battle for your dream and village's dignity." He says.  
>"I understand now." Naruto says. That cocky grin of his, I knew he was just trying to be cool.<br>"I don't care." Says the redhead with the gourd. "Tell us the details of this life-or-death exam."  
>"Then I will now begin the explanation of the Third Exam, but.." The Hokage says, then clears his throat. Someone jumps down in front of him.<br>"Excuse me Hokage-sama." He speaks. "I, Gekkou Hayate, the judge, will explain."  
>"Please do." The Hokage says. This Hayate guy stands up.<br>"Everyone, it's nice to meet you." He says, then turns his head back, his eyes had massive bags under them, and he looks kinda like an undead. It made me shiver and cling to Daisuke's shirt as he is standing in front of me. He groans but just decides to ignore it. "Everyone, before the Third Exam.. There's something I want you to do..." He stops talking and coughs into his hand. "Fight in some preliminary matches to see who gets to advance the Third Exam's main battle." I blink.  
>"Preliminary? Whatever for?" I ask. "Why can't we just start the Third Exam with the remaining examinees?"<br>"In this case, it must have been because the First and Second Exam were too easy, I don't know.." Hayate says. "But there are too many examinees left. According to Chuunin regulations, we must decrease the number of participants for the Third Exam."  
>"Oh, no!" Sakura whines.<br>"As previously mentioned by Hokage-sama, there are many guests for the Third Exam, so.. We cannot just have a lot of matches. We are limited on time, as well. So, those who aren't feeling well-" He stops to cough. "Eugh, excuse me. If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation.. Please let me know. The preliminary matches will begin immediately."  
>"Immediately?" The dog boy questions.<br>"But we just got through the Second Exam.." Ino whines.  
>"How troublesome." Shikamaru groans.<br>"Oh.. yeah.. I forgot to mention this, but you will have one-on-one matches from here on out." Hayate mentions. "So please withdraw if you wish."  
>"Psh, is this guy serious? As if we're gonna quit." Susumu, behind me, grumbles. I was too busy looking at Sasuke holding his shoulder and shaking slightly. Naruto and Sakura were panicking a little.<br>"What is it?" The Hokage asks. Our attention turns to Kabuto who had his arm raised.  
>"I'll quit." Kabuto says. Hayate grabs a small book and flips through it.<br>"Let's see.." He mumbles, looking through it. "You are Konoha's Yakushi Kabuto-kun?" He asks. My eyes widen. "You may leave, then."  
>"Yes sir." Kabuto says then turns around and starts walking.<br>"Kabuto-san, why are you quitting?" Naruto questions. "Why?"  
>"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but my body is completely worn out already. Even before the First Exam, after I had that quarrel with the Sound guys, I couldn't hear anything in my left ear. I can't fight right away, especially if it's a life or death battle." Kabuto says, then continues walking.<br>".. What about his personal history?" I overheard the Hokage ask. I look over to see Anko looking through some documents.  
>"He didn't stand out in his academy years, and his grades were normal. He passed the graduation exam on his third try. After that he did two C-rank missions and fourteen D-rank ones. He doesn't have any outstanding accomplishments. But.." Anko says, reading off the sheet.<br>"But?" The Hokage inquires.  
>"It's about before he entered the academy.." Anko says. The Hokage's eyes seem to widen slightly.<br>"Yes?" He asks, eager to know. I listen in more, is this Kabuto really..?  
>"Do you remember the story of the boy that was brought back from the Kikyo Pass battle?" Anko asks.<br>"K.. Kikyo Pass... I-it's true.." I stutter.  
>"What?" Daisuke says, then one look at my completely shocked face, he becomes concerned.<br>"Yes." The Hokage replies. "A Jonin from the medic squad took custody of an enemy's boy that was left on the battlefield. So he's that boy?" Anko nods. Kabuto was talking quietly to one of his teammates. I felt tears falling from my eyes. He then starts walking out.  
>"KABUTO-ITOKO!" I cry, capturing attention from everyone in the room. I run over and bear hig Kabuto, sobbing into his chest and clinging to his shirt.<br>"What's the matter?" Kabuto asks. I couldn't stop crying, I didn't want to let go. He puts his arms around me. "Stop crying, you'll set a bad impression." He whispers.  
>"I don't care." I sob, holding him tighter.<br>"Why cry now? Did you not recognize me back then?" He asks. I shake my head shamefully. "Hm, I don't blame you. We can talk later on, for now, carry on with the exam alright?" I let go and wipe my eyes while nodding. I couldn't believe it. He's alive.  
>"O-okay.." I mutter. He ruffles my hair while laughing.<br>"You're still the same silly little girl you were back then." He says. I pout. "Go on." He says. I nod, smiling and walk back over to my squad, now shedding tears of happiness. Kabuto continues to leave. Hayate's cough broke the silence after that, we all turn around and face him again.  
>"May I assume there are no more people who wish to retire?" He asks. "Then, let's begin the preliminary matches. It will be a one-on-one match. In other words, it will be like real combat. Now that we have exactly 26 people, we'll have 13 matches. And the winners will be able to advance to the Third Exam. There are no rules. You will fight until the other person dies, is knocked out, or admits defeat." My eyes widen slightly. "If you do not want to die, please give up immediately. However, if I judge that the match is over-" He stops to cough again. "I may stop you to prevent any unnecessary deaths. The thing that will hold your destiny.." He looks at Anko. Anko nods and turns around and presses the button on her headset.<br>"Open it." She says into it. Then one of the boards behind the jutsu statue slides up, revealing a black screen.  
>"Will be this." Hayate says. "This electric bulletin board will randomly display the names of two fighters for each match. Without further ado, I will now display the names for the first match."<br>The screen flickered a few times then names randomly jumble around. Then it stops.

Akadou Yoroi  
>vs<br>Uchiha Sasuke

"Those whose names were displayed, step up." Hayate says. Sasuke and Kabuto's teammate step forth. "The first match's fighters are Akadou Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke. Are there any objections?"  
>"No." Both Sasuke and Yoroi reply in unison.<br>"Very well.. We will now begin the first match. Everyone other than the two fighters, please move up there." He says, pointing to the platforms on either side of the room. Lee nudges me.  
>"Setsuki, I will race you up there." He says. I smirk.<br>"'Kay!" I reply then run to the stairs, up them and smiles victoriously, then my face becomes straight seeing him already standing there smiling.  
>"I win." He says. I roll my eyes and go stand beside him as everyone walks up the stairs. The Konoha ninjas all came to this platform and all the foreigners went to the other. Gai-sensei, Tenten and Neji come and stand by us. Lee seemed to be watching Sasuke closely, like he was interested to know his abilities.<p>

Lee stayed like that the entire match, and then the unthinkable. Sasuke was jumping back, avoiding Yoroi's attacks, then he suddenly disappears. Lee gasps, then Sasuke appears in front of Yoroi, and kicks him upwards then jumps up behind him.  
>"That's my..!" Lee exclaims.<br>"What?" Gai chokes. Just then Sasuke started to cringe then these orange marks started to cover his body.  
>"What is that?" Lee questions.<br>"I won't let this thing take over!" Sasuke growls, then the orange marks start disappearing. Then after smirking, Sasuke turns his body, putting his hand on Yoroi's back to making him turn slightly, then Sasuke kicks, but Yoroi blocks with his arm. Then Sasuke spins around and kicks then punches him to the ground, then as Yoroi was falling, Sasuke speeds down, punching his gut then he kicks Yoroi into the ground. "Lions Barrage!" Then Sasuke slides backwards on his back, then lays on his stomach. Both of them look unconscious and Hayate kept looking back and forth between the two. Hayate walks over to Yoroi to inspect him, by then Sasuke begins standing up.  
>"I will stop this match now." Hayate says. "The first match winner is Uchiha Sasuke. This means he passes the preliminary round."<br>"Yeah!" Naruto cheers. Sasuke failed to stand up, so he sat there panting, and just before he fall backwards Kakashi poofs behind him, sitting him back up with his leg.  
>"You did okay." Kakashi says, still reading that perverted book.<br>"Sasuke!" Naruto calls out. "You won in such an idiotic way! You're all worn out! Idiot!" I smile and look at Lee, he was staring at Sasuke, deep in thought. Medics came in and took Yoroi out on a stretcher.  
>"Uchiha Sasuke, we medics will give you the best treatment we can." One of them says.<br>"This isn't your field. I'll take him." Kakashi says, then kneels down to Sasuke's level and they argue quietly about something, then Kakashi stands up, Sasuke does too, and the two of them walk out.  
>"Now, we will begin the next match." Hayate says. We all look at the screen.<p>

Zaku Abumi  
>vs<br>Aburame Shino

After that match Neji was jumpy as ever.  
>"Who is he, Neji?" Lee asks. Neji walks around to the other side of me and activates his Byakugan, looking at Shino. He then gasps of horror.<br>"What a guy... I would understand if he summoned those bugs with a technique, but.. He lets the bugs live inside him." Neji says.  
>"What did you say?" Lee questions of shock.<br>"He must be part of the clan in Konoha that controls bugs." Gai-sensei says.  
>"I've heard of it before..." Neji says. "The story of the clan that lends their body as a nest to bugs upon birth and uses them to fight.. They control bugs with their minds, and let the bugs battle for them. In exchange they give their own chakra as food to the bugs."<br>"So he is the successor to that clan." Lee says, watching him walk back up the stairs.  
>"I hope I'm next." I say completely changing the subject. Lee chuckles.<br>"I would like to move on to the next match now." Hayate says. We all eagerly watch the screen.  
>"I'm next me me." I mutter.<br>"Shush." Neji hisses.

Tsurugi Misumu  
>vs<br>Kankuro

"Ooh Kankuro-kun! KANKURO-KUN!" I shout across the room. He looks at me just he went to turn around.  
>"Yeah?" He calls back. I give him a thumbs up.<br>"You'll win!" I call. He nods as though he already knew that then puts his hands in his pockets and walks down the stairs onto the arena. I wanted to watch this match.  
>"Unlike Yoroi, I wont go easy on your just because you're a kid." Misumu says. "Let me warn you. Once my move gets a hold of you, it's over. Then give up. I will finish this quickly, too." Kankuro slips the straps of the thing on his back off.<br>"Then.." Kankuro sniggers, then puts the thing on the ground beside him, putting his hand on the top of it to stand it there. "I'll finish the match quickly, too." Misumu glares at him and Kankuro gets an overconfident grin.  
>"Then.." Hayate says. "Now begin the third match."<br>"Victory goes to the swiftest!" Misumu says, running at Kankuro. He goes to punch Kankuro's head with a swing of his arm, however Kankuro blocks it. Just then Misumu's arm starts to coil around Kankuro's arm. It was creepy. Misumu had coiled his legs around Kankuro's and his other arm around Kankuro's neck. The thing Kankuro was holding fell over. "I can take my joints off their hinges and use my chakra to control my loosened body. That's why I can strangle you until your bones break. Unless you give up, I will continue strangling you. I don't know what kind of tool you use, But there's no point to it if I immobilize your body like this. I can break your neck as well. Hurry up and give up."  
>Kankuro smirks. "No." he says.<br>"Do you want to die!" Misumu questions, tightening his grip.  
>"Idiot. You're the one who's going to die." Kankuro says, then suddenly, Kankuro's head fell, like he had just died. My eyes went wide.<br>"His neck is broken.." Lee says, his expression showing horror as well.  
>"Psh, you idiot." Misumu scoffs. "I got carried away and broke it." Then bits of wood fell from Kankuro's head, which then turns itself around a whole 180°, his face was cracked, and his left eye showed a big eyeball.<br>"Now it's my turn." Kankuro says. Arms rip through the sides of Kankuro's outfit, wrapping around Misumu. I think they're wood. Then it hit me.  
>"A puppet!" I exclaim.<br>"What?" Lee asks. I look to the big bandaged thing of Kankuro's on the ground, Kankuro's hands slip through them, pulling on one of the bandages then they fly up into the air. Kankuro was crouched down as the bandages fall in a circle around him.  
>"There's chakra coming out of his hand. That must be how he controls that marionette." Sakura says.<br>"I.. give.." Misumu grunts as the puppet squishes him with it's arms.  
>"You can become softer if I break your bones." Kankuro jokes. Misumu then fell over.<br>"Since his opponent is unable to fight, the winner is Kankuro." Hayate says.  
>"Two against one is unfair. Is that allowed? Is it, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asks.<br>"It's not unfair. It's just a doll after all." Kakashi replies.  
>"That's the Puppetry Technique. He controlled the doll with his chakra, it's merely a tool, like a shuriken." Sakura explains.<br>Hayate coughs. ".. Moving along, we will now start the next match." We look at the screen again.  
>"Me me me me." I mutter.<br>"Setsuki, if you don't shut it, I will hit you." Neji grumbles. I close my mouth but continue saying it in my head.  
>"Geez everyone here is such a weirdo." Naruto says.<br>"And you're not?" Kakashi says.  
>"That's right." Sakura says.<br>"Not you, too, Sakura-chan.." Naruto whines. Sakura giggles, and Kakashi puts his hand on her shoulder.  
>"This isn't the time to be laughing." He says, then uses his finger to point to the screen.<p>

Haruno Sakura  
>vs<br>Yamanaka Ino

After Sakura and Ino go down, Naruto begins calling out.  
>"Sakura-chan! Do your best! Don't lose!" Naruto cheers.<br>"Begin." Hayate says.

At the end of their match, they run at each other, then punch each other, making them both fly backwards and tumbling a little. Their headbands fell off. They both try to get up, then then fall back over.  
>"Both are unable to fight." Hayate says. "Due to a double KO, no one passes the 4th preliminary match. Kakashi picks up Sakura, and Ino's sensei picks her up then bring them up onto the platform.<br>"Sakura-chan!" Lee says, worried for her.  
>"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cries. Kakashi and Ino's sensei sit them both against the wall beside each other.<br>"They don't even require medical treatment. They'll wake up in a bit." Ino's sensei says. The screen flickers again, capturing all our attention.  
>"Me me me m-" I start muttering but then Neji whacks me over the back of the head.<br>"I told you to shut it." He gushes. I pout and go stand on the other side of lee, linking arms with him, mentally using him as a shield. Lee looks at me curiously.  
>"What is wrong?" He asks.<br>"Neji hit me." I whine. Lee looks at Neji.  
>"Why would you hit Setsuki-san?" Lee asks. Neji huffs and folds his arms.<br>"Because she would not be quiet." Neji grumbles.  
>"That is still no reason to-"<br>"Hey I'm up!" Tenten exclaims. We look at the screen.

Tenten  
>vs<br>Temari

They go down to the arena.  
>"Do your best, Tenten!" Lee cheers. "Yahoo!"<br>"Hm.. This might be an interesting match.." Neji says, but he went unheard because of Lee's cheering.  
>"Show that girl what you're made of Tenten!" I cheer.<br>"Tenten! Use your youth power!" Lee cheers.  
>"Go! There's no limit in the springtime of your life!" Gai cheers.<br>"Tenten! You gotta use those awesome skills you used against me!" I cheer.  
>"No! Use your skills better than that! Don't hold back!" Gai cheers.<br>"Fifth match, Tenten and Temari, step up. Begin." Hayate says.

The last move, Temari had trapped Tenten in some sort of whirlwind. Tenten could not escape, and once it subsided, Tenten fell, and Temari held out her fan, making Tenten land on it and cough.  
>"Man that girl is ruthless!" Naruto exclaims.<br>"Oh.. Tenten.." Lee mumbles.  
>"Ouch.." I groan.<br>"Well that wasn't much of a match." Temari says. "Kinda boring."  
>"To be able to stop everyone of Tenten's attacks like that.." Gai says.<br>"I still cannot believe it." Lee says.  
>"It was impressive alright.." Naruto says.<br>"The winner of the fifth match. Temari." Hayate says, walking over to them.  
>"Hold on a second!" Lee says then jumps out into the arena. Temari threw Tenten across the field of weapons around her. Lee jumps down and catches Tenten in his arms before she landed on some weapons.<br>"Heh, nice catch." Temari says.  
>"What is wrong with you?" Lee questions. "She may have lost but that is no way to treat an opponent who has done her best!"<br>"Oh beat it." Temari says. "Take that sack of garbage with you." Lee growls then runs at her.  
>"No Lee!" Neji shouts.<br>"Leaf Hurricane!" Lee says, swinging a kick at Temari. Temari blocks his leg with her fan.  
>"Not even close." Temari says, smirking. I want to go help, so I jump up on the railing. Gai grabs the back of my shirt, ruining my jump, and he pulls me back, making me land on my butt.<br>"Don't." He says.  
>"You know what? You're as dumb as you look." Temari says to Lee.<br>"What did you say?" Lee growls.  
>"Lee! Stop!" Gai shouts, landing about a meter behind him.<br>"But Gai-sensei.." Lee says, sounding determined to fight.  
>"Temari." The redhead with the gourd calls. "Forget them. The match is over so get up here. You have won, why are you wasting your time with that pathetic loser and his ridiculous mentor?"<br>"What?" Lee growls toward him, giving a slight glare.  
>"Just calm down." Gai says, putting his hand on Lee's shoulder. "Heh, a word of warning. You Suna villagers have no idea what Lee is capable of. Now remember, he still hasn't fought yet. So I'd be careful if I were you."<br>Gai and Lee come back up onto the platform and the screen flickers again.  
>"Yeah! Here we go! Please let it be me! Let it be me!" Naruto says.<br>"No m-" I quickly shut my mouth, Neji had his arms folded frowning at me.  
>"No! It is my turn!" Lee says. "My turn!"<p>

Nara Shikamaru  
>vs<br>Tsuchi Kin

Me, Naruto and Lee all sigh in unison.

Shikamaru's win was impressive. "Come on come on! Me next! Me next me next me next!" Lee mutters. The screen flickers again.  
>"Come on! Me now!" I shout at it, not caring if Neji was planning on hitting me again.<p>

Kuromizu Setsuki  
>vs<br>[Cliffhanger]


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

There it was! My name! Me! My turn! Fire burns in my eyes.  
>"Wooo!" I cheer.<br>"Aw.. even you get to go before me." Naruto grumbles.  
>"You can do it Setsuki! You will win for sure!" Lee says, giving me the nice guy pose.<br>"Let the flames of youth explode Setsuki!" Gai says.

Kuromizu Setsuki  
>vs<br>Inuzuka Akakaze

I grin at the Inuzuka who is standing down the other end of the platform with her squad.  
>"I will win!" Akakaze calls then jumps over the railing. I stand on the railing and do a flip in the air to land on the other side of the arena.<br>".. Alright. Let the seventh match begin." Hayate says. I stood there waiting as she puts her dog on the ground.  
>"Shiro, lets win this!" She says. The dog barks, agreeing with her.<br>"Whoa hold on, what's with the dog?" I ask. "She'll just get in the way!"  
>"Heh, you're not very bright are you? Shiro's gonna fight as well!" She says. I blink, a fighting dog? I face Hayate.<br>"Is that allowed?" I ask.  
>"Yes, animals and bugs are treated as weapons. It isn't a problem." He says. I shrug and face Akakaze again.<br>"Alright then, bring it on!" I say. She grins and gets down on one knee and does a jutsu sign then chakra surrounds her.  
>"Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu!" She crouches down, placing her hands on the ground, her nail grow out, then she speeds toward me suddenly. It was unexpected, and she elbows my stomach, knocking me off my feet. I went flying backwards. She stood there smirking. "I knew this wasn't going to be hard." She says. I landed on my butt, then stand up and brush the dirt off my pants.<br>"I didn't realize you are so fast." I say, then she growls.  
>"Are you underestimating me!" She questions. I then smirk and at a high speed appear behind her.<br>"But not fast enough." I say, making her jump. As she goes to turn around to face me, I swing my leg up and kick her in the stomach, sending her flying into the wall. My eyes widen slightly as I felt a sharp thing pierce my right ankle. "Ow!" I look down and see the dog biting me. Akakaze falls out of the wall and looks over.  
>"That's right.. Hold her down Shiro!" She calls then runs at me again at a very high speed. It's a good thing I'm used to sparring with Lee, otherwise this would be hard. I focus on her movements as closely as I can before she gets to me, and when she does I manage to catch her fist. She gasps. "H-how did.. you..?" She stutters.<br>"NO WAY!" Kazumaru shouts. "AKAKAZE HOW THE HECK DID YOU GET CAUGHT!"  
>"It's nearly impossible! Akakaze is the fastest of all the 12 rookies." Sakura exclaims.<br>"Is that true?" I ask. She glares at me.  
>"Alright, so you're fast as well eh? Lets see how you deal with thi-" She got cut off by me swinging my leg and kicking her ankles, making her fall over. It also made her dog let go. I jump backwards.<br>"Sorry but you are going to have to be faster than that." I say.  
>"Woo! Go Setsuki!" Lee cheers, it made me smile.<br>"Grr, come on Shiro, if she's that fast then her strength is taijutsu." Akakaze says.  
>"You are smart." I mention.<br>"Heh, well if that's the case!" She says then crouches down. Shiro jumps on her back. "Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: Beast Human Clone!" Shiro transforms into Akakaze in a puff of smoke. They both jump at a very fast speed into the air then split, both going to either side of the room. "You can only focus on one of us at a time!"  
>"Oh no!" I say. "What do I do?"<br>"Fang over Fang!" She says, then they both spin around really fast toward me. I look back and forth between them both, giving the impression that I have no idea what to do. Just as they came close enough, I extend my arms, and successfully manage to grab both their wrists, stopping them just in time. I heard a lot of gasps from the audience, and Akakaze's and Shiro's eyes were wide. "I-impossible.."  
>"Now it's time to finish this.." I say, then spin around a few times, then throw them across the room, both going in opposite directions. Shiro hit the wall, then poofs back to normal, but didn't get back up, and Akakaze hit the wall too, creating a dint. I face her and do a few hand signs. "Water Style: Water Gun Jutsu!" I say then gush out a powerful force of water from my mouth at her. I heard her cry in pain as it hit her and continued to smash into her.<br>After a few seconds I stop the jutsu and watch as she falls to the ground cringing in pain.  
>"... Since the opponent is unable to fight, Setsuki is the winner." Hayate says. I perform a victory dance then jump back up onto the platform beside Lee who holds his hand up. I high-five him and he puts his arm around my shoulders.<br>"That was a great job Setsuki!" Lee exclaims.  
>"Yes! A thundering victory!" Gai says, giving me the nice guy pose. I mimic it back, making them both laugh.<br>Hayate's cough got everyone's attention. "We'll now see the next participants." He says, we all look at the screen.

Uzumaki Naruto  
>vs<br>Inuzuka Kiba

"My turn! My turn! My turn!" Naruto cheers. I smile. "Thank you for waiting everyone! It's finally my turn!"  
>"Hell yeah! We got lucky!" The dog boy says. I look at the board again.<br>"So he's Kiba." I mumble to myself. They both jump down, ready to go.  
>"Eighth match, Uzumaki Naruto verses Inuzuka Kiba." Hayate says.<p>

After their match I thought Naruto's victory was hilarious, and I couldn't stop laughing. No one expected a mere gas leakage (a.k.a. fart) would give him victory.  
>"That was a great job Naruto-kun!" I say. He grins, all overconfident.<br>"Of course, it was nothin'." He boasts.  
>"I will now announce the next match." Hayate says.<p>

Hyuuga Hinata  
>vs<br>Hyuuga Neji

There was a long silence as both Neji-kun and Hinata went down the the arena.  
>"I didn't think that I would be fighting you.. Hinata-sama." Neji says.<br>"Neji-nii-san.." Hinata says.  
>"Nii-san?" Sakura asks.<br>"What? Those two are siblings?" Naruto questions.  
>"They come from Konoha's oldest noble family, the Hyuuga Clan." Kakashi says. "But they aren't siblings."<br>"Then how are they related?" Sakura asks, facing Kakashi.  
>"I guess they're related in that they come from the Hyuuga's head family and branch family." Kakashi answers.<br>"Head and branch family?" Naruto asks.  
>"Yes." Lee says, then turns around, raising his index finger in a matter-of-fact way. "Hinata-san is from the Hyuuga head family. In other words, the founders. And Neji-kun is from the branch family, which carries the same bloodline." I giggle quietly to myself, the way Lee was trying to make himself look like he knows everything, but then again he probably does. Lee then puts his hand on his chin in thought.<br>"So it's a fight between relatives. It must be difficult for those two to fight." Sakura says.  
>"Yes, but.." Lee says then opens his eyes to look upon the Hyuugas below.<br>"What?" Sakura asks.  
>"But I believe that a lot of things happened between the head family and the branch family in the past..." Lee says. ".. And they are not really on good terms with each other." Then closes his eyes in thought again.<br>"Why?" Naruto asks.  
>"I do not know the details, but.. In old noble families like Uchiha and Hyuuga, they have special moves and abilities that run only in that clan. To pass those moves down, the Hyuuga family has a set of rules. But it seems that the rules are favorable to the head family. And because of those rules, a lot happened between the head family and the branch family." Lee explains.<br>"Must be a fight to settle the quarrels then." Sakura says.  
>"It's going to start." Kakashi says. We all look back down at the Hyuugas.<br>"Please begin the match." Hayate says.  
>"Before we fight, let me warn you about one thing, Hinata-sama. Give up." Neji says. "You're not suited to become a ninja. You are too kind, you seek harmony and avoid trouble. Ans you just go along and follow someone else's idea. And.. You have no self-confidence. You always feel inferior. That's why you thought it would be fine to remain a Genin. But you cannot register for the Chuunin Exam unless there are three people. You couldn't refuse the offers from Kiba and your teammate.. And the truth is that you are taking this exam unwillingly. Am I wrong?"<br>"Y.. you're wrong! You're wrong.. I.. I just.. wanted to change myself, so I willingly.." Hinata says, looking away, seeming like she was trying to hold back tears.  
>"Hinata-sama." Neji says. "You are indeed a spoiled child from the head family."<br>"What?" Hinata asks, looking at him.  
>"People cannot change. A failure is a failure. His personality and power will not change." Neji says. I notice both Lee and Naruto giving slight glares to him. "People cannot change, so that's why.. terms like 'elites' and 'failures' exist. Everyone judges you by how good your face, head and abilities, body shape and personality are. There are things that cannot be changed. People suffer due to their limits, and live. Just like how we can't change the fact that I am from the branch family and you are form the head family. My Byakugan has seen many things. You are really thinking about how you want to leave this place right now."<br>"That's not true! I really want to.." Hinata retorts.  
>"Byakugan?" Sakura asks.<br>"It's said that if you look at the origin of the Uchiha clan, they come from the Hyuuga clan. Byakugan is one of the Kekkei Genkai that the Hyuuga family has.." Kakashi says. "And is a special eye similar to the Sharingan."  
>"Woah that would be cool as to have something like that!" I exclaim. Naruto nods in agreement.<br>"Yeah but you think everything is cool." Naruto says.  
>"Not everything." I mention.<br>"Oh yeah, roses." He mentions, smirking. I glare at him, mentally screaming 'if you bring that up I will kill you.'  
>"Roses?" Lee asks. I sweatdrop and wave my hands around.<br>"U-uhh n-nothing! Don't worry!" I exclaim, then laugh nervously.  
>"Erm.. alright." Lee says. Naruto starts chuckling.<br>"Don't you dare." I warn Naruto.  
>"What's so funny?" Sakura asks, finally tuning in.<br>"Setsuki and her roses." Naruto says.  
>"Ohhh, haha." Sakura then begins laughing. I pout and lower my head.<br>"Stop laughing.." I sulk. Lee puts his hand on my shoulder.  
>"Why are they laughing at you?" He asks. I look the other way.<br>"Because they're meanie bums." I reply. I don't think Lee had any particular reaction to that because he never said anything.

At the end of Neji-kun's match, he used the Gentle Fist manoeuvre on Hinata's heart.  
>"That was a finishing move by Neji... He aimed for her heart." Gai says. "I feel sorry for her, but she cannot stand up anymore."<br>Hayate walks up to Hinata and looks at her. "I am going to assume that she cannot fight anymore.."  
>"Don't stop the match!" Naruto shouts, making us all look at him. "Don't stop the match!"<br>"Hey, Naruto!" Sakura gushes. "What are you talking about, stupid! She can't fight anymore, she fainted!"  
>Then something happened that made us all gasp. Hinata tried to get up again, and somehow managed to get back on her feet.<br>"Why did you stand up?" Neji asks. "If you push yourself, you're really going to die."  
>"I can't show such an unsightly scene.. in front of the person I admire.." Hinata says. Neji growls.<br>"Why!" He questions. Hinata walks forward, holding her stomach and limping.  
>"I can still.."<br>"There's no point in acting tough. You're barely able to stand up. I can tell you with these eyes that you have carried the destiny known as the Hyuuga Family. You cursed your powerlessness, and blamed yourself. But people cannot change." Neji says. "This is destiny. There's no need to suffer. Let yourself go."  
>Hinata shakes her head. "You're wrong.. Neji-nii-san." She says. "Because I can see.. That you are suffering more than me."<br>"What?" Neji asks.  
>"You are the one who's confused and suffering inside the fate of the head and branch families." Hinata says. Neji's eye twitches then he runs at Hinata with a lust for death.<br>"Neji-kun! The match has ended!" Lee calls out. Hayate runs to stop him, but Neji refused to stop, he _is_ going to kill Hinata.  
>Just then Gai appears behind Neji, putting his arm around Neji's neck, Hayate puts his hand on Neji's head, Hinata's sensei held one of his arms and Kakashi held his other.<br>"Neji, cut it out." Gai says. "You have made a passionate promise with me that you will not argue about the head family."  
>"Why did the other Jonins come out?" Neji asks, irritated. "Does the head family receive special treatment?"<br>Just then Hinata coughs and falls to her knees, coughing up blood. "Hinata!" Her sensei panicks then jumps over to her.  
>"Hinata!" Naruto shouts, then the four of us jump down and run over.<br>"Is she alright!" I question. Naruto kneels down to her as her sensei lays her down.  
>"Hinata, are you okay?" Naruto asks. "Hey!"<br>".. N.. Naruto-kun.." Hinata weakly says.  
>"Yeah?" Naruto asks.<br>"I.." She says then her lips keep moving but no words came out, only small quiet stutters, then her eyes close.  
>"Hey, the dropout there." Neji says. We all look at him. "Let me warn you about two things. If you're a ninja, stop with that unsightly cheering for a stranger. And one more thing. A dropout is a dropout. They cannot change."<br>"Do you want to try?" Naruto asks. Neji smirks. Naruto began to run at Neji. Just then Lee slides in front of him.  
>"You..!" Naruto exclaims.<br>"I understand how you are feeling, Naruto-kun. But you should fight in a proper match." Lee says. "A dropout will defeat a genius with hard work.. The main matches will be exciting. But I may be his opponent. I will hold no grudge if you were to match up with him."  
>"Tch.. fine." Naruto says, turning around then walks back over to us. Hinata suddenly coughs up blood, capturing all our attention. Her sensei unzips her jacket and puts a hand on her chest, she gasps then glares at Neji.<br>"If you have time to glare at me, I believe you should use that time to look at her." Neji says. Hinata's sensei stands up.  
>"Medical team what're you doing? Hurry up!" She gushes.<br>"Excuse us!" They say then run over, putting Hinata on the stretcher. They examine her quickly.  
>"She won't last ten minutes at this rate." One of them says. "Take her to the emergency treatment room. Hurry." Then they run off. Naruto kneels down and wipes his fingers in Hinata's blood on the ground then points that fist at Neji.<br>"I will win!" He says.

We all return to the platform and stand around. "Alright. I'll announce the next match now." Hayate says. We all look at the screen.

Aburame Kin  
>vs<br>Nara Susumu

The match was over rather quickly with Susumu's fear of insects, he decided to surrender.  
>"Alright, Aburame Kin is the victor of the tenth match. We'll now announce the next match." Hayate says.<p>

Yamanaka Daisuke  
>vs<br>Inuzuka Kazumaru

Lee sighs. "After this match there will be four of us left.. I hope that I will be next!" He says. I smile and give him a thumbs up.  
>"I know you'll be next!" I say. He smiles and returns the thumbs up.<p>

The tenth match resulted in a draw, because like Sakura's match, they knocked each other out. After the Jonins brought them back up, Hayate's cough caught everyone's attention.  
>"We will now resume the matches." He says.<br>"Okay!" Gai says, getting a cocky grin. "It's going to be your turn this time. Now go, Lee!" He says then gives him a thumbs up. Lee remained in his standing up straight position.  
>"No!" Lee says, turning the other way slightly, his nose in the air and his eyes closed, like he was snobbing his sensei. We all give surprised expressions. Lee faces us. "I've come this far. I want to be last now." Then returns his face upwards and his eyes closed. I was confused myself. The red head from the sand somehow got down on the arena, I didn't even see him go down.<br>"Hurry up and come down." He says. I look at the screen.

Gaara  
>vs<br>Rock Lee

"Lee-san!" Sakura gasps, then look at him. Lee kicks the air.  
>"You fell for it!" Lee says. "If I say that I want to be last, that does not happen! A rock thrown at a pole will not hit.. But if you throw a rock without aiming at the pole, it will hit. That was the law I used!" He explains then stops kicking the air then punches it instead.<br>"Ooh!" Gai says then gets a fist. "That's my student!"  
>"I do <em>not<em> want to be last!" Lee says. "I was able to trick them!"  
>"Let me give you some nice advice." Gai says, leaning down slightly with his index finger raised. Lee salutes and faces him. "No one has noticed yet, but.." They both get freaked out expressions. "That gourd is suspicious."<br>"I see." Lee says then gets a notepad out and begins writing.  
>"Don't write it down!" Gai says. "You have no time to look at it during a battle! You fool!"<br>"I see." Lee says then continues writing, saying aloud what he's writing. "Can.. not.. look.. at.. notes.. during.. battle.. There! I am ready!" Lee exclaims. I sweatdrop slightly.  
>"All right! Go! Yeah!" Gai shouts, then points outwards. Lee gets fire in his eyes and jumps over the railing. I stand right up against the railing, holding into it. Lee gets into his fighting stance.<br>"I am very happy that I can fight you so early." Lee exclaims. His eyes widen slightly, and he raises his hand as though he was catching something. "Do not get so hasty." Lee says then drops a cork.  
>"Now, let the 12th match.. begin!" Hayate says. Lee runs at Gaara, then jumps up into the air.<br>"Konoha Whirlwind!" He says, then goes to kick Gaara, but out of no where, sand appears and blocks it. More and more appears and starts to tower over Lee. Lee jumps backwards, avoiding it. Lee tries again, kicking and punching, but the sand kept rendering his attacks useless. Then the sand grabs his leg and throws him into the wall.  
>"Lee..!" I mumble, but then he gets straight back up and runs at Gaara, repeating his punches and kick.s<br>"Why is Lee-san using only hand-to-hand combat moves?" Sakura asks. "Winning with close combat is going to be tough. He needs to get back and use some ninja techniques."  
>"Hm. It's not that he isn't using them, just that he <em>can't <em>use them." Gai replies.  
>"What?" Sakura asks.<br>"Lee has no talent in ninjutsu and genjutsu." Gai says.  
>"No way!" Sakura gasps.<br>"When I first met Lee, he had no sense in anything." Gai says. "No talent at all."  
>"What..? I can't believe that." Sakura says. Then Lee trips over and the sand appeared to have fallen on top of him. I gasp slightly. Gai chuckles quietly, then we see him doing flips in the air and landing on the top of that jutsu statue.<br>"It is true that ninja who cannot use ninjutsu and genjutsu are rare." Gai says. "That's why the only thing left for Lee, if he was to survive as a ninja, was hand-to-hand combat techniques. But that's why he can win!"  
>"What?" Sakura asks. Gai gives a thumbs up.<br>"Lee! Take them off!" Gai calls. Lee salutes him unsurely.  
>"But, Gai-sensei, I thought that was only permitted when protecting many important people." Lee says. Gai gives him another thumbs up.<br>"I don't care! I will allow it!" Gai says. Lee seemed to get happy and laughs a little to himself. Lee crosses his legs and pulls his leg warmers down.  
>"Are those.. weights?" Sakura asks, looking at the things tied around Lee's legs. Lee takes them off and stands up again, holding them in one hand each as he extends his arms out.<br>"Alright! I can move easier now!" Lee exclaims. I blink.  
>"What difference is a bit of weight on his legs going to make?" Sakura asks. Lee drops them and they fall pretty fast. But then as they hit the grounds, it was like a land mine exploded, they crash through the floor and smoke rises. I jump 10 feet in the air. Sudden loud noises scare me. Kakashi raises a hand in slight shock.<br>"Isn't that a bit much Gai?" He asks. Ignoring Kakashi, Gai raises his hand, another thumbs up.  
>"Go, Lee!" Gai says. Lee stands up straight with fists raised.<br>"Yes, sir!" Lee shouts, then suddenly disappears. He then appears behind Gaara, throws a punch and almost hits him. I could no longer follow Lee, his movements were too fast. All I could see was spots where he was punching.  
>"He can't use any ninjutsu and genjutsu.. That is why he spent his time on taijutsu.. worked hard and did everything for it. Although he cannot use any other techniques.. He is a taijutsu specialist who won't lose to anyone." Gai says. Just then Lee manages to land a kick, creating a cut on Gaara's right cheek. Lee slides back and looks up with a smile.<p>

The fight continued, it was long and the tension never ceased. After the last attack from punching Gaara into the ground after opening the Fifth Gate, he tumbles on the ground and lays there, practically immobilized.  
>"Lee!" I call. As soon as the smoke disappears, Gaara's gourd had turned into sand and softened his impact with the ground. He weakly moves his hand out towards Lee, my eyes widen in horror. "G-Gai-sensei, the match needs to be stopped.." I say, looking back and forth between Gaara and Lee who looks like he can't move at all. After not hearing a response, I look back, seeing Gai's eyes wide in shock. "Gai-sensei.." I grumble. He snaps back into reality and looks down at the fight. Lee began to sit up, looking as though he was in great pain. Gaara's hand was directly in line in facing Lee. The more seconds that passed, the more worried I got. I wanted to shout out to Lee to give up so he wouldn't get seriously hurt but I know he wouldn't listen to such a foolish thing. Sand starts to make its way toward Lee. Lee looks at it, wanting it to stop, but we all knew that wasn't going to happen.<br>He began to crawl on all fours, but then fell back over grunting in pain. He looks back at the sand slowly approaching him and pushes himself to crawl more. Lee cringes again, then sits up, panting heavily as he tries desperately to get to his feet. He put his arm down to pull himself up but he only cries in pain and falls back over again. He tried to get up again, but his body said differently. Sand grabs his left leg, stopping him from moving. Then as Lee weakly swung his left arm to get it off, it grabbed his arm as well. Lee slowly stood up to try and get free, but cries out in pain.  
>"Gai-sensei! We have to stop it!" I exclaim, then look at him, his eyes were wide and show utter shock. It was like he was frozen.<br>"Desert Coffin!" Gaara says, closing his hand into a fist. Lee cries out at the top of his lungs, making me cringe. Lee fell, unconscious. I felt like I had just missed a breath, my heart was racing. Then more sand came after him.  
>"Gai-sensei! He's going t-" I saw Gai jumping down over the railings.<br>"Die." Gaara says, then the sand crashes down on Lee. Gai got there just in time and blocks the sand. Gaara sits up wide eyed at Gai. I sigh of relief, then get more worried seeing the blood covering Lee's left limbs. Gaara holds his head.  
>"Why..?" Gaara asks. "Why did you help him..?"<br>"He's.." Gai says. ".. He's.. an important subordinate I love."  
>Gaara glares slightly, kind of like he was wincing at his words.<br>"A subordinate you love?" Temari asks. Gaara stands up and the sand starts reforming back into the gourd and he walks back over to his platform.  
>"I quit." Gaara says.<br>"He.. quit?" Sakura asks.  
>"Lee!" I call out then jump over the railings.<br>"Winner, Gaa-" Hayate was cut off by everyone's gasps, including mine. My eyes were completely wide and I slow down running. Lee was on his feet, in his fighting stance. His left leg shaking violently. Gai turns around.  
>"This can't be.." He says. I couldn't believe it either. He opened five gates, and had his arm and leg crushed, he shouldn't be able to stand up.. I walk over to them slowly, my eyes widen more as I saw Lee's eyes. Gai puts his hands on Lee's shoulders. "Lee, it's okay. It's over." Gai says. "You shouldn't stand up..." One look at Lee's eyes and Gai began to tremble, his eyes became watery and tears roll down his face. "Lee.. you... you're.." His eyes are blank, he really is unconscious. "Are you trying to prove your way of the ninja even after you have lost consciousness?... Lee.. You are.." Gai pulls him into a hug. Lee's eyes close. I look at the medics and beckon them. "You're an excellent ninja already."<br>"Winner, Gaara." Hayate says. Gai gently lays Lee down on his back and I kneel down beside him. Hayate walks over. "Medical team, please hurry." The medics kneel down, pushing me and Gai-sensei away. One of them gasp and look up, his eyes shaking. He looks at Gai.  
>"Are you the Jonin in charge of him?" The medic asks.<br>".. Yes.." Gai replies. The medic stands up and gestures to the side.  
>"This way, please." He says, then walks away, Gai followed.<br>"Place him on there carefully. Don't shake the stretcher." The other medic says. I look at them carefully putting Lee on the stretcher. I stare at Lee's suffering face, then look over to the medic talking to Gai.  
>"He is breathing, but the bones in his entire body have suffered comminuted fractures, and his muscles have been torn up. I believe it will take a lot of time for him to recover. That alone would have been fine, but.." The medic says, then looks down. Gai tried his best to hold back more tears. "The damage to his left arm and leg is severe. Too severe. It's hard to say this.. but.. his body will no longer allow him to live as a ninja.."<br>I gasp. They pick up the stretcher carefully. I watch wide eyed. Gai walks up to the stretcher.  
>"Lee... I never wanted to imagine that you would lose." He was trembling trying to hold back a sob. As they begin walking off, Gai trembles more. I walk up to him.<br>".. Gai-sensei.." I mutter. After the medics left, Gai sniffles and turns around and walks looking down.

We stand back up on the platform, Gai's head remained low for the entire time.  
>"The 13th and final match. Fighters, step up." Hayate says. Choji and the other Oto nin go onto the arena.<p>

It didn't take too long for Dosu to win. "Winner, Dosu Kinuta." Hayate says. "That concludes the Third Exam's preliminary matches. We all stand around again on the completely trashed arena in front of the Hokage, Ibiki, Anko and Hayate. "To those who have made it to the main matches of the Chuunin Exam's Third Exam.. All but one are here, so congratulations."  
>"I will now begin the explanation for the main matches." Hokage says. "Your main match fights will be shown in front of everyone. We wish for all of you to show off your abilities as your country's representative power. Therefore, the main matches will begin in one month."<br>"We're not going to do it right here, right now?" Naruto asks.  
>"The one month is a time to conduct appropriate preparations." The Hokage says.<br>"What do you mean?" Gaara asks.  
>"In other words, we are going to announce to the feudal lords and head ninja of the individual countries that the preliminary matches have ended." The Hokage replies. "And time is needed to gather those people for the main matches. This is also preparation time for you candidates."<br>"I still don't understand. Explain." Kankuro says.  
>"Why are the Suna ninjas the only ones asking questions?" I think aloud, though quietly so they didn't hear me.<br>"This time is used so you can know your enemy and yourself better. It's a time to analyze the information you have gathered during the preliminary matches. The battles we had just like real combat situations. It has been done where both parties knew nothing of each other. But the main matches will not be like that. There are those who have revealed everything to their rivals. To make things fair, work hard and improve yourselves on your own in the next month. So, I want to let you guys go, but.. There is something important we must do before the main matches." The Hokage says.  
>"What is it? I have to hurry and train!" Naruto says.<br>'_And I have to go see Lee-san.._'  
>"Don't get so hasty." The Hokage says. "Take a piece from the box Anko is holding."<br>"I'll walk, so take it in turns." Anko says, then walks around to each of us standing in the line. "Just take one."  
>When I drew my piece of paper I unfold it revealing a number 10.<br>"Okay, everyone got one?" Ibiki asks. "Now tell me what number you got starting from the left."  
>"Eight." Dosu says.<br>"One." Naruto says.  
>"Ten." I say.<br>"Seven." Temari says.  
>"Five." Kankuro says.<br>"Three." Gaara says.  
>"Nine." Shikamaru says.<br>"Eleven." Kin says.  
>"Two." Neji says.<br>"Six." Shino says.  
>"So he must be a four." Hayate says.<br>"Yes." Ibiki agrees.  
>"We will now tell you the match ups for the tournament." The Hokage says,<br>"What?" Naruto asks.  
>"That's what we drew for?" Shikamaru asks. I smile.<br>"Ibiki. Show the match ups." The Hokage says.  
>"Yes sir." Ibiki says, then steps forward turning his clip board around, revealing the tournament matches.<br>"Er I have a question." Shikamaru says.  
>"Okay." Ibiki says.<br>"If it's a tournament, that means there's only one winner right?" He asks. "Does that mean that only one person can become a chuunin?"  
>"No, that's not how it is." The Hokage says. "These main matches will have judges, including me, Kazekage, as well as the feudal lords and had ninja from the other countries who will be potential clients. These judges will grade you by watching you in the tournament. And those who are qualified to be a chuunin, even if they lose in the first round, will become a chuunin."<br>"So there's a possibility that everyone here can become a chuunin?" Temari asks.  
>"Yes, but that also means that it's possibly for no one to become a chuunin." The Hokage says. "Winning the matches in the tournament means that you are able to show off your skills more. Do you understand, Shikamaru-kun? That is all. We are adjourned until next month. Dismissed."<p>

I walk out with Neji. He was silent.  
>".. Well, who have been paired with?" He finally speaks.<br>"Eh, that Aburame guy. Kin I think his name is." I answer.  
>"Hn. I get stuck with that imbecile." He grumbles.<br>"Naruto-kun's not an imbecile. He's a good friend." I say.  
>"Hmph. If you like <em>him<em> so much, why don't you go hang out with him?" He huffs. I get a slightly sad face and he stomps off ahead. I stood there thinking, wondering what to do.

After standing around for ten minutes, I decide to go home. I have a shower an freshen up, then sit on the couch. I look at the clock – 3:45pm. I still have roughly three hours before the sun sets.  
>"You're not usually home this time of day." Takashi mentions, walking into the loungeroom with a cup of coffee.<br>"It's 'cause I'm usually at work by now." I sigh.  
>"Why don't you go ask for your job back? Your arms a healed right? And you also have to be more serious and considerate of your actions. Don't do anything bold and you'll be fine." He says, smiling. I blink slowly.<br>"You think they'll let me back?" I ask. He nods.  
>"Sure they will." He says, smiling confidently. I shake my head.<br>"No, I gotta use this next month to train!" I exclaim.  
>"Train? You train everyday don't you? What difference?" He asks.<br>"Well the final matches are in a months time, so I gotta train up for them." I explain.  
>"Ah, well still, don't go pushing yourself, alright?" He says. I nod and stand up. "Now where are you going?"<br>"To get my job back!" I exclaim.  
>"Good luck." He calls as I walk out the door.<p>

I go to the spice shop, walk inside to the familiar surroundings, it hasn't changed a bit over the few weeks I've been gone.  
>I walk up to the counter coming face to face with Kaede. "Oh Setsuki.. What brings you here?"<br>"I want to apologize." I say.  
>"And..?"<br>"And I was hoping to get my job back.." I say. She sighs.  
>"Look Setsuki, I'm not the one in charge here, but I can get the boss for you." She says. I nod, then she goes off to find him. As usual, the tables are all empty, hardly anyone was here because they have a low tolerance for spicy stuff.<p>

Minutes later Kaede came back with the boss.  
>"Ah Setsuki. I heard you got fired didn't you?" He asks. I shamefully lower my head.<br>"Yes sir."  
>"And you want your job back?" He asks. I nod. "Hm.. alright. I'll give you a second chance. If you stuff up again I'm afraid I cannot let you work here anymore."<br>"Thank you sir!" I say, then hug him. He sweatdrops.  
>"Eh, you can start tomorrow night." He says. I nod.<p>

After that I go out to the training field to find my squad sitting around. "Hi guys!" I say, gaining their attention.  
>"Oh hey Setsuki. Hey gratz on the win!" Daisuke says. I smile.<br>"Thanks."  
>"Yeah." Susumu says while yawning.<br>"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?" Daisuke asks. I blink.  
>"What? Where?" I ask.<br>"At the hospital." Susumu says, scratching his stomach, not moving from the tree he was laying against.  
>"What for?" I ask. They both look at each other with that 'oh my God' look.<br>"For your boyfriend." Daisuke says.  
>"I don't have a boyfriend."<br>"Sheesh you're slow as ever." Susumu grumbles. I swear that I do not have a boyfriend, what the hell are these two on about?  
>"You know that Lee guy." Daisuke says.<br>"Lee-kun?... Hahaha, no he's not my boyfriend, silly Daisuke-kun." I laugh, finally understanding that they have a misunderstanding.  
>"Well he may as well be, after all, you decided to stand with him rather than us at the preliminaries." Daisuke mentions.<br>"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we're together, we're just friends." I say.  
>"Oh yeah, sure~." Daisuke chirps. I nod.<br>"Yeah I'm sure of it." I say then smile. They both sweatdrop. "Come to think of it.. I should go see if he's doing okay.." I say then head off toward the hospital.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Once I get there I run to the counter.  
>"Hi, can I please have Lee-kun's room?" I ask.<br>"Lee? Hm, well.. He's not in any condition to move, so you can only visit him for a little while." The nurse says. I nod.  
>"Yeah that's okay." I say.<p>

She escorts me to a room and opens the door. "Lee-kun you have a guest, a cute girl." The nurse says, walking in, making me blush the slightest bit.  
>I saw him laying in the bed, his eyes closed like he was sleeping. His left arm was bandaged in a heavy wrapping, and I presume his leg is too. I walk up to his bed, looking down at his sleeping face. The nurse walks over to the window and opens it slightly.<br>"Lee, I'll win my match in the finals, and if I get to verse Gaara at any stage.. I'll beat him. Just for you." I proclaim. I notice his face screw up slightly, but he didn't wake up.

About 10 minutes later the nurse 'kicked' me out so I went to rejoin my squad on the training field, but they were gone.  
>"Lazy bums." I grumble. Then I realize I'm by myself again, I shiver, anything could be lurking around. "Water Clone Jutsu." I create 2 clones.<br>"Yes! Freedom!" One of them cheers. I sweatdrop.  
>"Are you always this weird?" I ask.<br>"Haha you called yourself weird." The other one laughs. Then I remember why I don't let my clones keep me company. I sigh.  
>"You know what I can't handle this anymore, I'm sending you back." I say, preparing the hand sign.<br>"Noooo we'll be good!" They both cry in unison.  
>".. Fine." I groan. "Lets go." I say.<br>"Where're we going?"  
>"Somewhere." I answer.<br>"Like where?"  
>"Somewhere to train." I reply.<br>"By yourself?"  
>"No..."<br>"You don't seem so certain."  
>"Well I can train with you guys." I mention.<br>"Boring."  
>".. I'm not boring.." I whine.<br>"Hey I got an idea, lets make her angry!"  
>"Yeah!" The other clone agrees.<br>"Why do you guys always gang up _against_ me?" I ask.  
>"That's easy, it's 'cause we hate you." One of them says. I get anime tears.<br>"Wrong reaction." The other groans. As they continue insulting me, making me very sad, I found myself at the other end of the training ground, near the river. But I wasn't the only one there. Gai-sensei, Neji-kun and Tenten are there as well. I smile.  
>"Oh no, she's gonna get rid of us for them weirdos." One of my clones says.<br>"Yep, you're smart." I say, not realizing I just complimented one of the meanest people I know. I perform the hand sign. "Release." They both fall to puddles of water. I run over to them. "Hi guys."  
>"Hm? Setsuki?" Gai asks, turning around to face me. "What brings you out here?"<br>"Training." I say.  
>".. That's good spirit.." Gai says. He sounds a little depressed, but I decide not to pry.<br>"Setsuki! You can train with us!.. er, right Gai-sensei?" Tenten says. Gai looks at me.  
>"Where's your squad?" He asks.<br>"Eh, my teammates are too lazy to train and I don't know where Komaru-sensei is." I say. "And besides, I gotta get strong for the finals so I can beat that Gaara."  
>"What? You're versing Gaara? Setsuki!" Gai panics, then puts both hands on my shoulders, looking me dead in the eyes. "You can't fight him. Don't fight him. He's far too dangerous."<br>"But I.. I wanna win for Lee." I say. He shakes his head, knowing he can't throw orders at me because I'm not his student. He backs off slowly and tents to get a ore depressed expression.  
>"Alright.. we'll begin training.. Neji I want you to work on your stamina. Tenten, Setsuki I'm sure you can help with that." Gai says, facing us all.<br>"Yes Gai-sensei." Tenten says, pulling out a few scrolls.

Tenten summons all her weapons at once at Neji who was just standing there. I tilt my head.  
>"Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!" Neji says, then suddenly spins around really fast, deflecting all the weapons. I thought it was cool.<p>

It went on forever, the ground came to the point where it could literally not be seen because the weapons were piled up that thick. I was sitting on a tree branch watching, if I had've stayed on the ground I'd be buried in the weapons.. yes, they were that deep. Tenten was worn out from throwing them and spinning the scrolls around, and Neji was exhausted performing that move.  
>"Neji, I'm done." Tenten pants. "I can't go on anymore." Neji stood there panting.<br>"I can.. keep going." He says. Tenten pulls out a scroll, clearing away all her weapons then sits down.  
>"Fine, I'm out." She says. I jump down.<br>"I'm ready!" I exclaim. Neji faces me, panting.  
>"Bring it on." He says. I nod then run at him. I jump up into the air, then go to drop kick him, but he raises his arm and blocks my leg, he turns his hand around, grabbing my ankle then throws me. I do a flip and land on my feet, sliding a little. Then Neji runs at me and starts hitting me repeatedly with his palms, he was too fast for me to be able to block, so I got pounded.<br>I end up being pushed to the ground. His attack style is completely different to Lee's, the style I was used to fighting.  
>I quickly return to my feet, but he was already onto me, he pounds my back, then swings his leg around, kicking me over.<br>"You are slow." Neji pants. He looks like he could pass out at any second.  
>"Neji, take a break, you've done enough." Gai says. Neji stares at Gai for a moment then decides to obey and sit down. He sits beside Tenten. I get to my feet. "Setsuki."<br>"Yes?" I ask, turning to face him. He walks up to me.  
>"Your taijutsu seems a little off." He says. Well I thought I was pretty good. "Allow me to teach you some better moves."<br>"Alright." I say. Hey, no way would I turn down an opportunity to learn new techniques. Gai beckons me to come at him, so I run at him, going for a punch this time. He effortlessly catches my fist, I swear he didn't even move.  
>"You need to combine your strength with your speed." He says. I had never thought of that.<p>

For the rest of the evening I was tutored by Gai-sensei who had seemed to somehow get his spirit back.  
>However, his training was very intense. I found myself having a hard time breathing, whereas he looks like he could go on forever.<br>"Setsuki! Allow the flames of youth to give you energy! Come at me with that move again!" He calls. I raise a hand as if to say 'hold on' while I try to catch my breath. When I did I ran towards him, jump in the air and swing my legs around.  
>"Leaf Hurricane!" I say, going to kick him, however, he raises his arm again, blocking my leg.. again.<br>"That was fantastic! You are improving each time!" He exclaims, giving me a thumbs up. "And I've only just started teaching this move to you about 5 hours ago and already you seem to have almost mastered it!"  
>"Thanks Gai-sen- wait.. did you just say 5 hours?" I ask. He nods.<br>"That's right! Not even Neji could practise for that long! Already you have surpassed him in one area, that is indeed great work!" He exclaims. I look around, noticing the sun was gone, but there is still enough light to see around, mostly because it's the moon's light. "Nonetheless, it is getting late and I wouldn't want to get your uncle worrying about you." I nod. "Come on, lets get you home."

I follow him back to my house, say good night then go inside, meeting my uncle at the dining table.  
>"Hello." I say. He looks at me, then shows an expression full of hope.<br>"Well..?"  
>"What?" I ask. He sighs and shakes his head.<br>"The job, how did it go?" He grumbles.  
>"Job? … Ohhhh the job!"<br>He frowns and facepalms himself.  
>"Yeah, I got it back." I say, smiling proudly. He smiles and stands up.<br>"That's great news," He says, spreading his arms. "give me a hug you." I smile and hug him, he hugs back. "Well..?"  
>"Um, tomorrow night." I reply.<br>"Oh that's great! Now go get some sleep." He says, pointing to the stairs. I pout.  
>"But I'm hungry! Gai-sensei had me going non-stop!" I exclaim.<br>"Gai? You mean that weirdo that looks identical to that friend of yours?" He asks.  
>"Weirdo? No, Gai-sensei isn't weird." I say. He rolls his eyes.<br>"Setsuki, you couldn't tell weird from normal could you?"  
>"No I only know cool people and boring people." I answer. He sighs.<br>"That's exactly my point.. Anyway~ what do you want for dinner?" He asks.  
>"Anything." I answer. He sighs again.<br>"You never make anything easy." He grumbles then walks into the kitchen. I sit at the table waiting, but end up falling asleep.

For the next week, Gai-sensei trained me and taught me many new techniques. Ones such as Leaf Hurricane, Strong Fist and he's begun to teach me a forbidden technique – opening the Eight Gates. I can almost open the First Gate, I just need to concentrate a bit more, and I am fully aware of the conditions of using these gates too.

It was early in the morning, possibly about 5am, and I was up, wide awake, full of energy, but unable to get out of bed because my body is too sore to move. All that intense training tends to have its downside.  
>I roll over onto my right side, moaning in pain as I do so. I was now looking out the window, seeing the faint orange glow in the distance. I don't think I could possibly do any training today at all. I wish for either my body to stop hurting, or to be able to fall asleep. But no, it was one of those situations where time felt like it was in an infinite loop. Every time I look at my alarm clock, at about hour intervals (which is what it felt like) it would have only changed by about a minute or two and it was getting to me.<br>Then I start to daydream, visualizing all the effort I put into training, Gai-sensei's shining smile after everything I do right.. Back to the preliminaries beforehand, my match.. Lee's match.. I close my eyes, not wanting to rewatch that painful scene, nor those unforgivable words about him not being able to continue on as a ninja.. Then I began to wonder, did Lee train as hard as I do with Gai-sensei? Did he perhaps train harder?

Before I knew it, my alarm clock was beeping. I sigh, then roll over onto my left side, moaning again in pain, and painfully extending my arm to turn it off.  
>I close my eyes again, wanting to go back to sleep, but no, 10 minutes later uncle Takashi comes in and shakes my arm, making me flinch.<br>"Oww..." I drawl.  
>"Setsuki? You alright?" He asks. I don't bother opening my eyes.<br>"No." I grumble.  
>"What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?" He asks, sitting on the side of my bed, then putting his hand on my forehead.<br>"No.. sore.." I say, letting out a sigh.  
>"Oh, well then you may as well stay in bed all day then." He says then stands up. My eyes snap open.<br>"Noo!" I cry, sitting up, then regretting it. I wince in pain. He chuckles.  
>"That's you, always pushing yourself. Take some time to relax for once, it'll do you some good." He says. I pout.<br>"I wanna go and do stuff though." I complain.  
>"Setsuki, lie down for a while alright? I'll bring you something to drink." He says then walks out, then down the stairs. I lie back down disappointed, how on Earth am I supposed to get rid of this energy?<p>

Uncle Takashi comes back up the stairs with what looked like a glass of water, and he hands it to me. I drink it all in one go, ignoring the slight weird taste in it. Suddenly I felt drowsy.  
>"That should help with your sleep. I could tell you're full of energy and there's nothing worse about being stuck in bed when you're full of energy." He says.<br>"Night." I reply, rolling over and quickly falling asleep. He just laughs.

I slept all day until early the next day. It was 4am and I was ready to do something. My energy had skyrocketed, and my body was in pain no more. Whatever that was that Takashi gave me, it worked. I jump out of bed, then realize perhaps it's best not to go wondering around alone.. especially at this hour, no one will be awake. Then I got the best idea. Maybe if I make a clone, then transform it into someone, maybe they will portray that person so then it would be like having someone else there! I smile at my genius intellect.  
>"Water Clone Jutsu!" I create just one for now.<br>"Hey, it's early." She says, peeping at my alarm clock.  
>"Yep, we're going training, now stand still." I say.<br>"Still..? What're you up to?" She asks.  
>"Nothing~" I chirp.<br>"No, leave me alone! I didn't ask for anything you big fat pig!" She gushes.  
>"I'm not a big fat pig." I say, pouting slightly, why are they always so mean to me? "You are." I say, then smirk at her expressionless face.<br>"You're the fattest person in the world!"  
>"No, I'll show you who's fat." I say. "Transformation Jutsu!" I transform her into a really fat person. "Now who's the fat one?" I snigger.<br>"Ahaha very funny." She grumbles.  
>"Now seriously, hm.. Oh I know! Transformation Jutsu!" I say, then she transforms into Tenten.<br>"Gah! What the hell?" She panics.  
>"No! Act more like Tenten-chan." I complain.<br>".. Okay, imitation is fun! Um what would Tenten normally do..?" She ponders. I blink. "Oh! I know, I know!" She clears her throat. "My weapons are the best and yours are all blunt!"  
>"... Geez." I sigh then facepalm. "Well there goes that idea." I grumble.<br>"What idea?" She asks.  
>"Goodbye, release!" I say, making her collapse into a puddle of water. I kneel down and use my chakra to absorb the water. "Who else would be up at this hour?"<p>

After deciding no one else would be up, I just drew a picture on a piece of paper, it's not very good, then again, my artistic side isn't very big. I drew stick-figure versions of me, Lee, Neji and Tenten all holding hands. Though I admit Neji looks funny because of his hair. He kinda looks like a girl.. okay he _does_ look like a girl.  
>"I must put this on the fridge!" I exclaim then run downstairs, finding a magnet and sticking it to the fridge. "Perfect!" I exclaim.<br>"Oh no you don't." Takashi says, walking up behind me. I turn around, looking completely innocent.  
>"What?" I ask.<br>"You're not getting my toast today." He says.  
>"Okay." I simply reply. He rolls his eyes then goes to make a cup of coffee, then I walk past the table, grabbing his toast and walk out the door.<p>

I look around for either one of my teammates, they're bound to walk past anytime soon. Then I saw Daisuke and frown slightly. You see, Daisuke and I go way back.  
>Back in the academy years, I was a lot more serious than I am today, I was never really one to muck around, after all I was still traumatised by everything that happened before I arrived in Konoha, and so training was a top priority for me. Nonetheless, I still had my friends and such, but Daisuke was what you may call, a fanboy. He was obsessed with me, mostly because I was one of the best in my class. He would always try and sit beside me, he'd ask me out everyday, and it was so annoying. The worst part was being told we're on the same Genin squad, now that was hell, but now I'm glad he's laid back, and it's all thanks to Susumu's grouchy attitude. He's always trying to secretly impress me by pretending to hate me, and bagging me out.<p>

I run over to him despite the fact he usually tries to hug me when I'm not looking, and hug him from behind.  
>"MORNING!" I shout.<br>"AHH!" He jumps. I let go smiling innocently while he's breathing really fast, having a heart attack. "Don't do that!"  
>"You know I like scaring people." I laugh. He huffs and looks the other way. "And your expression was priceless!" I laugh more.<br>"Yeah.. I'll just you know, stand here and have a heart attack, don't mind me." He grumbles.  
>"Oh.. alright then, I'll meet you at the meeting spot." I say then walk on ahead of him. He facepalms himself.<br>"You're so slow! Stop being slow! I don't like it!" He complains, running to catch up to me.  
>"I'm not slow! Stop saying I am.." I complain. He shakes his head.<br>"No I meant, with the whole sarcasm thing, you never get it! You always take it seriously." He says. I sweatdrop.  
>"I understand it..." I imply.<br>"Yeah sure." He says, getting that smug grin he gets when he knows he's right about something. I roll my eyes, I'm not going there right now.  
>"SETSUKI!" Takashi shouts from the house.<br>"Come on~" I chirp, running ahead. He sweatdrops then follows.

We get to our meeting spot and I was surprised. Gai-sensei was talking to Komaru-sensei. Me and Daisuke look at each other and shrug before walking over to them. I wonder what's going on.


	12. Chapter 12

"What do you mean she's got crappy taijutsu?" Komaru asks.  
>"I'm simply saying she needs more practice." Gai-sensei replies.<br>"Who are you talking about?" I ask. They both jump and look at me and Daisuke.  
>"Where did you two come from?" Komaru-sensei asks.<br>"Err, my house?" I reply. Komaru shakes his head.  
>"That's not what I-.. never mind." He says then faces Gai again. "Fine, I'll let you train her this month then if that's what you really want."<br>"Who?" I ask again.  
>"You." Gai-sensei says, giving me the nice guy pose.<br>"You mean, I have bad taijutsu?" I ask.  
>"Well.. it's not bad, just needs improvement. Now, Komaru-san, I will show you the move I taught her. Setsuki, show him the Konoha Senpuu." Gai says. I nod then jump back a few meters, then run at Komaru-sensei, jumping in the air then going to kick.<br>"Konoha Senpuu!" I say, his eyes widen slightly not expecting this, but he manages to catch my ankle, stopping me. I frown slightly, it's like I can't hit anyone with that move.  
>"Wow, that is impressive. Alright Gai-san, I'll let you train her then." Komaru-sensei says.<br>"What?" I ask, falling over because he still has hold of my ankle. Gai gives Komaru-sensei the nice guy pose.  
>"Thank you Komaru-san, I promise she will become even stronger!" Gai exclaims. Komaru nods.<br>"What's going on?" I ask. Komaru-sensei lets go of my foot, allowing me to stand up and brush the dirt off me.  
>"Setsuki, Komaru-san has granted me permission to train you for this month in your taijutsu!" Gai exclaims. I smile, feeling excited, finally a new sensei. "Now, are you ready to go?"<br>"Ye-"  
>"No! She's staying with us!" Daisuke retorts, throwing his arms around me and holding me back. Both Komaru-sensei and Gai-sensei blink, I just frown.<br>"I want to!" I exclaim.  
>"But I don't want you to." Daisuke says.<br>"But I want to!" I exclaim, pushing out of his grip.  
>"But.. but Setsuki.." Daisuke grumbles. I poke my tongue out at him, I know he's just jealous because I get to have a cool sensei.<br>"No I wanna go!" I exclaim, then stand beside Gai-sensei. Gai puts his hand on my shoulder and gives me a thumbs up. I look at him, smiling. "Does that mean I'm part of Team Gai now?" I ask. Gai nods.  
>"Temporarily, yes." He replies.<br>"Yay! Lets go!" I exclaim.  
>"Very well, I will see you later Komaru-san." Gai says. Komaru-sensei nods and Gai and I jump off.<p>

We end up at the training grounds where Tenten and Neji are already standing around waiting. "It's about time." Neji grumbles.  
>"Morning Neji-kun, Tenten-chan." I say.<br>"Morning." Tenten blissfully replies.  
>"Hn." Neji grumbles.<br>"Alright you lot, listen up. Setsuki here will be a part of Team Gai for this next month." Gai says.  
>"Oh, how lovely! I'll get to have another girl to talk to!" Tenten cheers. I smile, it's the same deal with me.<br>"But there is no time for girl talk Tenten, we have training to do!" Gai exclaims.  
>"Sheesh." Tenten grumbles. "So pushy.."<br>"Now, I think we'll start the day off with some warm ups. Everybody now! One, two." Gai says then starts doing star jumps. Both Tenten and Neji gave him reluctant glares, this made me giggle.

Before I know it, the month was gone. I haven't seen my best friend Naruto for quite a while either, he must either be pulling pranks or actually training.  
>It was midday and I had just finished training with Gai-sensei and the others, and I was hungry. I end up walking past the hospital on my search for food, then thought I should pay Lee-san another visit, who knows? Maybe he's woken up! I smile to myself, it would make my day to see him awake.<p>

I turn around and head back to the hospital, and as I walk through the hallway, I heard familiar voices from one of the rooms with the door open slightly.  
>"Hey, you're finally awake."<br>"Where am I?"  
>I walk over to the door and peep my head in, seeing who I think is Susumu sitting by the bed with his back towards the door, and Naruto in the bed. Wait...<br>"The hosp-"  
>"Naruto-kun?" I ask, walking in, cutting off Susumu. They both look at me.<br>"Setsuki-chan?" Naruto asks.  
>"Waaaait a minute, you're not Susumu." I say, looking at the boy. He blinks.<br>"... I'm Shikamaru." He says.  
>"You look just like Susumu.." I mention. "It must be your hair.. or maybe the lazy-looking eyes.. o-"<br>"Ahem.." Shikamaru clears his throat, cutting off my rambling.  
>"Huh? Oh yeah, so Naruto-kun, why are you in the hospital?" I ask.<br>"I heard he was asleep for three days straight." Shikamaru says.  
>"Sleeping?" I ask.<br>"Three days?" Naruto asks. "... THREE DAYS!" He then immediately stands up on the bed from his lying position, and faces Shikamaru who was now freaking out.  
>"W-what?" Shikamaru stutters. These sudden bursts of energy Naruto has also scares me.<br>"Shikamaru! When are the final matches!" Naruto questions.  
>"Tomorrow.." Shikamaru says in a scared tone, and raises his arms defensively thinking Naruto might attack him.<br>"WWHHHHAAAAATTT!" Naruto practically screams, then jumps off the bed and grabs Shikamaru's shirt and pulls him face to face. "WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME EARLIER! I DON'T HAVE TIME TO JUST SLEEP HERE! WHERE'S THE PERVERTED HERMIT? WHERE IS HE? I NEED HIM TO SUPERVISE MY TRAINING!"  
>"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru questions. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"<br>Naruto lets go of him and throws his pillow off the bed like he was looking for something. "My clothes are gone!" Naruto panics. He looks around frantically on each side of his bed. "Where? Where? Where?"  
>"Geez, he's sleeping one minute and causing a ruckus the next." Shikamaru grumbles.<br>"NARUTO! CALM DOWN!" I shout over the top of him, making Naruto pause in an odd crouching position on his bed.  
>"Geez. There's no point in panicking the day before the finals. Resting can be considered a part of your training." Shikamaru says.<br>Naruto fell backwards onto his butt like he was depressed.  
>"Hey, Naruto.. What's wrong?" Shikamaru asks.<br>Naruto's stomach growls and he turns his head around with anime tears. "I'm hungry." He whines.  
>"Come on.. Don't scare me like tha-"<br>"How about some Ichiraku Ramen?" I ask with a big smile. Naruto's eyes light up.  
>"Yeah!" Naruto strongly concurs.<br>Shikamaru sighs. "Now hang on a minute." He says.  
>We both face Shikamaru that that 'huh?' expression as he bends down reaching for something. He pulls up a basket of fruit. "This is troublesome but I brought some fruit for Choji. The doctor said he can't eat them, so lets eat them together."<br>"Choji?" Naruto asks. "He's hurt that badly?"  
>"Don't get the wrong idea." Shikamaru sniggers. "He ate too much barbecue and his stomach isn't feeling well-"<br>Shikamaru was cut off by Naruto cracking up laughing. "That sounds like Choji alright!"  
>"Heh. Here." Shikamaru says, tossing Naruto an apple.<br>"What about me?" I ask.  
>"Yeah here." Shikamaru says, then tosses me an apple. I catch it and take a bite, it was a juicy one, and I love juicy apples, so this made me very happy.<br>"Mmm this looks very good! Aaa-!" Naruto went to bite it but then stopped to giggle.  
>"Huh?"<br>"Lets go eat in front of Choji." Naruto sniggers.  
>"Ngh, what a troublesome guy." Shikamaru grumbles.<p>

We walk to Choji's room. "Shh." Naruto hisses, creating a slight echo down the corridor, after all the hospital does seem rather empty. Shikamaru and I look at him, wondering what he's up to. "We'll scare him." Naruto mouthes. I'm not a lip reader but I could understand that. Shikamaru nods and grabs the door handle, sliding it open very slowly and we stood on an angle so that to Choji, it looks like there's no one there.  
>Once the door was open wide enough Shikamaru sticks the fruit basket through the door.<br>"Geez, did you come to annoy me Shikamaru?" Choji grumbles.  
>"Well, yeah." Shikamaru laughs then we all enter. Choji frowns at the three of us.<br>We sit around the bed and begin eating in front of him, making him very.. infuriated.

The food didn't last long, especially with Naruto's "starving" stomach. We broke out in a conversation which varied over many different things, too much to write down in a list.  
>Naruto started to trail off about his lecture on how Ichiraku Ramen beats every other food, and he turns his head to me smirking. I blink. "Say, I'll bet you came just to visit me right Setsuki-chan?" He asks.<br>"Well I didn't even know you were in the hospital." I bluntly reply. Naruto gets anime tears and Shikamaru and Choji laugh.  
>"Wait, then why did you come to the hospital then?" Naruto asks.<br>"Oh, I came to check Lee-san. It's been about a month so, I'm guessing he's woken up by now." I say.  
>"Lee? He's been awake for a while now." Shikamaru says, capturing my attention.<br>"Really?"  
>"Yeah. Ino told me a while ago that she and Sakura went to visit him and Sasuke. However, both their beds were empty. Of course they went to visit Sasuke first, but because he was gone they went to visit Lee but his bed was empty too. Turns out he was outside struggling to do push ups." Shikamaru explains.<br>"What? Push ups in his condition?" Naruto questions.  
>"How could he even get outside in the first place?" I ask, remembering his crushed leg. Shikamaru shrugs.<br>"Beats me." He says.  
>"Wow.. that guy has determination huh.." Choji says, his facial expression showed he was probably talking to himself.<br>"Yeah.. it's a real shame.. I don't understand though, why of all people did it have to happen to him?" Naruto asks, getting that slight sorrowful look.  
>"Mm.. He wanted to become a Taijutsu specialist like Gai-sensei." I say.<br>We all had a moment of silence... which was shortly to be interrupted by Choji's stomach growling, followed by his whining.  
>"... Lets go visit him together!" I exclaim.<br>"Yeah!" They all reply in unison.  
>"Oh no you don't Choji." Shikamaru says.<br>"Why?" He whines.  
>"Because you need to stay here. You don't want to upset that stomach of yours." Shikamaru answers. Choji grumbles and sinks down in his sitting position, folding his arms in annoyance.<br>"Well, see ya Choji." Naruto says, then we wave and leave.

Once we get to Lee's room, Naruto stops outside the door. "What now?" I ask.  
>Naruto gets that mischievous grin. "We should scare Bushy Brows too." Naruto says in a hushed voice. I frown.<br>"Naruto, that's not nice." I say, going to hit him over the back of the head, but he saw a coin on the ground and picked it up making me miss.  
>By now Shikamaru was already slowly opening the door, and when he gasped I began to freak out. Shikamaru rushes in there, crouches down on one knee and does a hand sign. I peep my head through the door seeing that red head from Sunagakure.<br>Sand covered Lee's bed, and Gaara was holding his hand above Lee's face, ready to kill.  
>"Hey, you..!" Naruto shouts, then jumps at him, punching his face with fury.<br>Just then Shikamaru cried out in pain, and his head looked like it was forced backwards.  
>"What the hell are you doing here?" Naruto shouts.<br>"Hey, Naruto." Shikamaru growls. "When I'm using the Shadow Imitation Technique, I move along with him. Got it?"  
>"Oh. Sorry, Shikamaru." Naruto says. I look at Gaara, a crack forms on his cheek, and sand drops from it. Naruto walks back over to Shikamaru and me, then glares at Gaara. "What are you trying to do?" Silence filled the room as we stare each other down. "Hey! What did you try to do to Bushy Brows?" Naruto snaps.<br>We stare at Gaara, waiting for him to answer. Calmly, he finally answered, ".. I tried to kill him."  
>"What?" Naruto gasps along with Shikamaru and me.<br>"Why do you need to do that?" Shikamaru asks, getting a really annoyed expression. "You won the match. Do you have some sort of personal grudge against him?"  
>"No.." Gaara replies, his voice still calm and monotoned. "I'm going to kill him, because I want him dead.."<br>I suddenly felt a chill attack my body. Was I scared of this guy? I remain standing there beside Shikamaru, not able to take my eyes off Gaara thinking he will do something. Naruto points to him.  
>"THAT'S THE MOST SELFISH THING I'VE HEARD!" Naruto shouts.<br>"You grew up in a bad environment didn't you?" Shikamaru asks. "You're really egocentric."  
>"... If you bother me, I will kill you, too.." Gaara says. The chill got worse, I <em>am<em> scared of this guy. Naruto clenches a fist, pointing it at Gaara, apparently not scared a bit.  
>"What? Just try it, then!" Naruto gushes.<br>"Hey, cut it out, Naruto!" Shikamaru hisses. "We know that you're strong, since we saw your match with him. But.. These two here and I are pretty strong as well." He says with a smirk.  
>"Shikamaru..! Don't bring me into this." I hiss quietly at him.<br>"Shush, I'm bluffing to see how he reacts." Shikamaru whispers to me, then faces Gaara again. Bluff or not, I could feel my legs shaking slightly. "We didn't show our strongest move in the preliminaries. And it's two verses one here. You're at a disadvantage. If you listen to us, we can let you go."  
>Gaara's expression became even more cold. "I'm only going to say this once more.. if you bother me, I will kill you."<br>"Gaargh! You can't kill me!" Naruto exclaims, yet again, pointing at Gaara. I jump at Naruto and cover his mouth with my hand.  
>"Shut up you idiot!" I mutter in his ear. Shikamaru was giving a very annoyed look towards Naruto.<br>"Stop doing that Naruto, this guy is as strong as a monster. You know that, right?" Shikamaru hisses.  
>I felt the corner of Naruto's mouth move up like he was smirking, and he grabs my wrist and pulls my hand down from his face. "I have a real monster inside me." Naruto says, getting that cocky attitude. "I won't lose to him."<br>Shikamaru elbows Naruto. "Don't piss him off, you idiot!" Shikamaru growls. I stand on the left of Naruto, seeing him getting angry himself.  
>"... A monster, eh?" Gaara inquires, closing his eyes. Naruto's growling became slightly louder, showing he was getting more pissed off. ".. Then I am the same."<br>The three of us gasp slightly, Naruto's expression suddenly changed, he was utterly stunned.  
>"As you said, I did not grow up in a nice environment." Gaara says. "I took the life of a woman who was called my mother when I was born. To become the ultimate ninja, my father used a ninja technique to bind an incarnate of sand to me. I was a monster at birth."<br>Naruto's eyes just snap wide open, his eyes began to shake like he was trembling. Both mine and Shikamaru's eyes were wide as well, and this chill grew even more. I glimpse at Shikamaru, seeing him tremble slightly.  
>"It is called Shukaku, and it was sealed in a teakettle." Gaara explains. "It is a living soul of an elder priest from Sunagakure."<br>Both me and Naruto notice Shikamaru sweating and trembling out of fear. "Must be one of the binding techniques to bind a soul before birth." Shikamaru says, trying not to lose himself to fear. "To think that you guys would resort to such a thing... you guys are crazy.. heh.. that's not what a parent should do. What a twisted way to show love."  
>"Love?" Gaara asks. "Don't measure me by your values. Family? Let me tell you what kind of link I have with them. They are just lumps of meat linked by hatred and murderous intent. I stole my mother's life and was created to become the village's masterpiece. As as Kazekage's son... my father taught me the secrets of ninja techniques... I grew up after being overprotected, spoiled, and left alone. I thought that was love..." Gaara finally opens in eyes, giving us cold glares, making me quiver. "Until that incident happened."<br>"That incident?" Shikamaru asks. Gaara's glare became more fierce and my body moved on it's own, stepping slightly behind Naruto.  
>"What happened?" Naruto asks with a slightly shaky voice. Gaara's eyes turn to the ground. "So what happened?"<br>A slight smirk appears on Gaara's face and he looks up at us with scary eyes, veins spread across his sclera reaching for his pupil-less green irises. I found myself standing behind Naruto now, but I am taller than him, so I could still see over the top of his head. "These past six years, starting from when I was six... my father tried to assassinate me numerous times."  
>My eyes widen more in shock, and Shikamaru gasps loudly, leaning his head back and trembling more. I was shaking myself, I was seriously scared and horrified by what Gaara had just said.<br>Shikamaru swallows and speaks up, "But you said that he spoiled you. So what do you mean?"  
>Gaara lifts his arm slightly. "A being that is too strong eventually becomes an embodiment of fear. Since I was born from the usage of a technique, my mind was unstable. The idiots in my village finally noticed that my emotions were unpredictable. To Kazekage, my father, I was the village's trump card... but at the same time, I was a threat. After I turned six, it seems that they classified me as a dangerous being. I was the village's dangerous tool, but still handled with care. I am only a relic of the past they want to get rid of. So why do I exist and live? .. I asked myself that question, but I could not find an answer." There was a slight pause, and Gaara glares straight at Naruto. "But I need those reasons while I am still alive. Or it would be the same as me being dead."<br>"What is he talking about?" Shikamaru asks.  
>"And this is what I concluded..." Gaara says, closing his eyes again. "I exist to kill everyone other than me. I finally found relief inside the fear of being assassinated at any time. By killing the assassins, I was able to recognize my reason to live.." Gaara opens his eyes and looks at us. "I fight for only myself, and love only myself. As long as I think that other people exist to make me feel that, the world is wonderful. As long as there are people to kill in this world... to make me experience the joy of living... my existence will remain."<br>There was a very long silence, and the tension in the air was unbelievable. The three of us stood there shivering in fear. Naruto suddenly took a step back, his heel stepping on my toe making me jump, however Naruto was in his own world quivering.  
>"What's wrong, Naruto?" Shikamaru asks, looking at him with the same fear in his eyes. Suddenly sand shot up from the ground making us all jump.<br>A pillar of it came up over us.  
>"Naruto!" Shikamaru shouts. Naruto didn't move, he just stood there staring in fear from this sand above him. "Naruto! Hey, wake up!"<br>"Let me feel..!" Gaara says maniacally. I stare wide eyed as the sand came rushing towards us. I quickly clap my hands together.  
>"Suiton: Suishōha!" I call, summoning a vortex of water to spiral around the three of us, dampening the sand, making it heavy and fall to the ground. Gaara gets an even bigger smirk and suddenly more sand comes out of no where. I squint my eyes and use my chakra to bring the water back up, ready to go again.<br>"Stop right there." We hear. Immediately, our heads turn to someone standing at the door. Gai-sensei. "The main matches are tomorrow. There is no need to get hasty." He says in a firm voice, then walks into the room. "Or do you want to get hospitalised today?" He stops and faces Gaara.  
>Gaara was holding his head like he was suffering. The sand began to retreat from Lee's bed and the floor and return to his gourd. He then began walking to the door, hunched over and breathing heavily. He puts a hand on the door and stops, looking back at us.<br>"I will kill you guys for sure. Just you wait." He spoke before walking out completely. Gai-sensei turns to us finally with that questioning look, and I began to explain what had happened.

"I see.. well keep away from him until tomorrow. The last thing any of you need is to be injured for your final matches." Gai-sensei tells us. We nod. Naruto still seems tormented by Gaara's words.  
>Lee began groaning, which immediately captured all our attention, and we walk over to his bed.<br>His eyes open slowly and he blinks a few times and looks up at us.  
>"Naruto-kun?" Lee weakly asks, and then looks between the rest of us. "Shikamaru, Setsuki-san, Gai-sensei..!" After seeing his sensei, Lee began trying to sit up, but winces doing so.<br>"Lee, what did I tell you about taking it easy?" Gai inquires, folding his arms.  
>".. Sorry Gai-sensei." Lee replies.<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Then Gai-sensei threatened to hospitalise him, and Gaara said he'll kill us all before he left." I finish explaining to Lee.  
>Sitting up in his beed slightly crouched over, Lee looks back at me from the window. "Oh.. That is just like Gai-sensei, always showing up at the time of need." He replies. "But.. are you alright Setsuki-san?"<br>I nod. "Yeah, I'm fine." I reply, then notice a daffodil in a small glass vase on his bedside table and smile. "Seems Sakura-chan has been here today."  
>Lee blinks then looks at it, then smiles, blushing. "Sakura.. What a lovely angel she is." He says, then closes his eyes. "One day." He says then looks up with fire in his eyes. "One day I will prove myself!"<br>"That's the spirit!" I say, smiling at him. Lee looks back at me with a goofy smile, making me laugh a little.  
>"So the final matches are tomorrow. I wish you the best of luck Setsuki-san!" Lee says, giving me a thumbs up and a smile.<br>"Thanks! Oh yeah! I forgot to mention, I've been a part of Team Gai this month, so my Taijutsu has gotten better!" I exclaim. Lee seems to become rather happy.  
>"You were trained by Gai-sensei? You will be unbeatable Setsuki-san! Gai-sensei is the best!" Lee exclaims.<br>I nod really fast. "Yeah! He's way better than Komaru-sensei!" I exclaim, making him chuckle.  
>"Aw, now that's not very nice." I hear a familiar voice say. I look at the half-open door and Komaru-sensei's head sticking through it. I sweatdrop. "I was gonna take you out to get some Ichiraku Ramen." My eyes light up. "But if you're being mean to your sensei that wont happen."<br>Pouting, I turn my head towards the window, nothing but black and distant lights could be seen. "What time is it?" I ask, completely changing the subject.  
>"Hmm.. Almost 10pm." Komaru-sensei says.<br>"What?" I question, standing up.  
>"Is it really that late? I thought it was earlier than that." Lee says. Komaru walks in shaking his head.<br>"Have you been here annoying Lee all day, Setsuki?" Komaru asks, giving me that look as though I've done something typical.  
>"Uhh... No, I was training with Gai-sensei until around lunch time, then came to the hospital.. then me, Naruto-kun and Shikamaru ate in front of Choji, then we came to visit Lee-san when we saw that Sand guy Gaara and we stopped him from.. then Shikamaru left to find Ino about something, then Naruto left because he was hungry and Gai-sensei left not too long ago." I quickly explain.<br>"Yes." Lee says with a single nod. "And Setsuki-san is not annoying, I actually enjoy having company.. it gets lonely sometimes."  
>By the look on Komaru-sensei's face, all this was too much to take in at once, so he just nods, going along with it. ".. Wait, stopped Gaara from doing what?"<br>"Uh well it's a long story." I say.  
>"I have time."<br>"Well, he was in here about to.. 'finish' Lee-san so we stopped him." I say. Komaru blinks as though waiting for me to continue. "... That's all."  
>"That wasn't a long story." Komaru says. I shrug. Lee chuckles slightly.<br>"So what brings you here anyway?" I ask. Komaru frowns.  
>"I swear you have the memory of a fish." He says.<br>"I don't have a two second memory.." I say, pouting slightly. Komaru shakes his head.  
>"I said, do you want to get some Ichiraku Ramen?" He repeats, drawling out the word 'said'.<br>"Ohh, wait.. at 10 o'clock at night?" I ask, confused.  
>"Problem?" Komaru asks, confused as to why I'm refusing.<br>"Weelll the final matches are tomorrow.. I kinda need to rest up." I explain.  
>"Oh yeah, forgot ab- wait a minute! Did you just say you wanted to rest?" Komaru questions, stunned. I shake my head.<br>"I said I need to, I don't want to. There's a difference Komaru-sensei." I say. He sighs.  
>"Alright, well then, go get that rest." Komaru says.<br>"But.. I want some ramen.." I mumble.  
>"Geez make up your mind." Komaru huffs.<br>"I have! I need rest and want ramen!" I say with a big smile. Komaru raises an eyebrow.  
>"Alright then. And Lee, how are you feeling?" Komaru asks.<br>"Just fine, thank you." Lee replies. Komaru nods then walks towards the door.  
>"Come on Setsuki."<br>"Coming. I'll see you around Lee-san." I say, smiling at him. Lee smiles and nods back.  
>"Yes. And good luck for tomorrow Setsuki-san!" Lee says.<br>"Thanks again! And I'll be sure to win!" I say, giggling slightly.  
>"That is good! And I will be there to watch!" Lee exclaims.<br>"Really? But shouldn't you be.."  
>"It is fine, Gai-sensei said he will help me." Lee says.<br>"Awesome! Well, I'll see you tomorrow Lee-san!" I say, walking over to the door.  
>"Yes, good night Setsuki-san."<br>"Night Lee-san." I say then close the door, and run after Komaru-sensei.

"I see." Komaru says, after I explain everything a third time. He plays with the chopsticks in his hand and seems to go deep into thought.  
>I was still happily slurping down my noodles.<br>"So your taijutsu has improved I hope. Team Komaru hasn't been the same without you, you know." Komaru says.  
>"Yosh! Gai-sensei trained me very well! And Team Gai is awesome too! Gai-sensei is so cool, and Tenten-chan is great to talk to, and Neji.. is kinda mean, but they're still great!" I exclaim. Komaru's head falls and blue lines of despair hover over his head. I blink.<br>"You didn't miss us at all?" He whines.  
>"Maybe a little.." I reply. He sinks down lower. "... Well! Good night Komaru-sensei." I say, giving him a quick pat on the back, and leaving some money on the table, paying for my ramen. I then walk out, leaving him in his depression. He'll get over it.<p>

I was up early the next morning, and decided to prepare. I sharpen my kunais and my katana plus do some warm up exercises. Being around Gai-sensei it's easy to pick up habits like that.  
>I wonder downstairs, meeting my uncle in the kitchen.<br>"Mor-"  
>"No!" He shouts, cutting me off. I straighten up and blink. "Not today! Just no!"<br>"What'd I do!" I question, becoming flustered.  
>"You're not stealing my toast today!" He gushes. I blink a few times.<br>"... Okay.." I say in a small squeak.  
>There was a moment of silence. ".. Anyway, good morning Setsuki." He says.<br>"Morning!" I chime, smiling. "Oh oh! The main matches are today!" I exclaim, smiling bigger.  
>"Already! Wow! …."<br>"What's wrong?" I ask, tilting my head to the side.  
>"I want you to be careful." He says, getting a serious face. "I know I say it all the time, but I worry about you sometimes you know."<br>"Yeah I know." I groan.  
>"I'll be there to watch my favorite niece win!" He chimes, making me smile.<br>"I gotta go find my friends now." I say, he nods. I walk past the table taking his toast off his plate while he wasn't looking then bolt out the door.

There was a commotion by the village gates and I became curious and stood in the crows, watching as two big carriages being pulled by bulls and people walking alongside them enter. I stare curiously.  
>"What's going on?" I ask.<br>"You don't know?" Asks one of the people standing around. I shake my head. "Today is the main matches! This is the Kazekage!"  
>"Kazekage! Really?" I question, becoming kinda excited.<br>"Yeah!"  
>"This is so cool! I have to tell Naruto-kun!" I say, mostly talking to myself, then jump off to find him.<p>

Naruto is walking in the street looking down. I tilt my head and jump down beside him. "Naruto-kun?"  
>"Hm? Oh! Setsuki-chan!" He says with a smile.<br>"The first match features Hyuuga Neji right?" Asks a random passerby, grabbing Naruto's attention. He stops walking to stare at the two people talk.  
>"Yeah. He was last year's number one rookie, right? I can't miss the matches now."<br>I blink and Naruto looks at the ground again. I thought maybe he was getting nervous. I put a hand on his shoulder but he remains looking at the ground. "Hyuuga... Neji.." He mutters. But then suddenly he raises his head laughing. "I'm able to summon a frog now, so I should be fine!"  
>"A frog..?" I ask, extremely confused.<br>"Yeah! The Perverted Hermit trained me lots and lots and now I can summon frogs!" He exclaims.  
>"Who is this Perverted Hermit you speak of?" I ask.<br>"His name is Jiraiya, one of the Sanin or something." He says, like he's clueless. I had heard that name before, then it clicked.  
>"Oh! I remember! I heard about them in the Academy! Jiraiya-sama, Orochimaru-sama, and Tsunade-sama, they're all known as the Three Legendary Sanin, but I also heard Orochimaru became evil and left the village.. or something." I explain, not too sure myself because it's been nearly two years since I graduated from the Academy.<br>"Well Perverted Hermit is really bad too." He grumbles. "All he eve thinks about is girls and he often ditched training me just to spy on them."  
>"Eugh, so he's a low life?" I ask.<br>"Yeah." He says, then starts walking.  
>"So where're we going?" I ask.<br>"I dunno, just a walk around I guess." He says.

We end up at the training grounds, and Naruto was quieter than usual. We both stop after seeing someone standing at one of the vertical logs, just standing there facing it.  
>"Hinata?" Naruto asks, making the girl gasp and quickly retreat behind the log.<br>"O-oh.. Naruto-kun..!" She squeaks. She relaxes a little and pokes her head around the log to look at us. Well... at Naruto anyway. "Why did y-you come here? I-Isn't today the m-main matches?" She stutters.  
>Naruto lets out a small sigh. "I, uh... you know." He replies then looks around. "I just came here to see this training area. Since this is where I became a Genin."<br>I notice Hinata's cheeks turn pink. "R-really? But why?"  
>"Eh? No reason!" Naruto says, then turns around, his back facing her. "Who cares about the reason.."<br>Hinata's eyes turn to the ground. "Yeah... sorry."  
>There was a moment of silence. "Hey, Hinata." Naruto finally speaks, then turns his head back to look at her. "Neji is your relative, right?"<br>"... Yes." Hinata replies.  
>Naruto turns around to face her again. "Is he strong?"<br>Hinata looks down again.  
>"I see." Naruto says, his eyes turning to the ground.<br>"Yeah he's strong alright." I say, making them both look at me. "I've been training with his squad all month and not once could I even hit the guy!" I exclaim. Naruto's head drops in despair.  
>"B-But..!" Hinata speaks up. "You might be able to defeat him, Naruto-kun!"<br>Naruto laughs putting his hands behind his head. "Yeah! I _am_ strong!" He boasts.  
>"Naruto." I say.<br>"Yeah?"  
>I point to him, smirking. "If we end up being matched against each other, I want a full fight, no holding back! After all it's been <em>ages<em> since we last sparred and I'll bet you've become very strong!"  
>Naruto's smile only grew bigger. "Which means you have to defeat Neji-kun in order to defeat me!" I say.<br>Naruto gets a fist of courage. "I'm gonna beat that guy and make him look so bad, believe it!" He exclaims.  
>Hinata nods. "I know you can beat him N-Naruto-kun." She says, getting his attention. She finally walks out from behind the log, pressing her index fingers together. "Um, when you ch-cheered me on, I felt like I had b-become stronger than before. After the preliminaries, I was able to like myself a little more. If a stranger looked at me, it might seem I haven't changed... but I think I was able to change. And I think it was thanks to you, Naruto-kun."<br>".. Hey, Hinata. Did you really think that?" Naruto asks. "I may look strong from your point of view, but I always screw up... and I just act strong because I'm mad."  
>"That's not true!" Hinata speaks up. "Even if you did make a mistake you were always.. from my point of view, a proud man who makes a lot of mistakes."<br>Naruto stood up straight staring at her with wide eyes.  
>"When I looked at you, there was this impact on my heart. You're not perfect.. you make mistakes, and you get stronger from them. I believe that is true strength. Naruto-kun, I think, you are a strong person." Hinata says then her cheeks turn more pink and she steps half behind that log again. My eyes were watering from the happy moment!<br>'_As Gai-sensei would say, moments like this when a girl confesses her love, it is so beautiful and youthful at the same time!_'  
>Naruto finally smiles happily. "Thank you, Hinata. I've always been last place in everything. I was nervous over nothing. I was a bit depressed, but I feel better now!"<br>"Naruto-kun..!" Hinata happily exclaims.  
>"I'll be going off to the matches now!" Naruto says then starts walking, but then stops and turns around. "Hinata.. I always thought of you as.. a dark, timid and weird person." He says, then keeps<br>walking. "But you know something..? I like people like you."  
>I notice Hinata frozen and her cheeks were now red.<br>"Oh, be sure to come watch me beat Neji." Naruto says smugly. Hinata smiles slightly and nods.  
>Then bangs could be heard in the distance. We all look seeing small smoke clouds poof in the sky. Kind of like fireworks.<br>"Eh? Crap! It's this time already?" Naruto panics.  
>"Lets get moving!" I shout then the two of us bolt off towards the village.<p>

Running through the streets, people were standing around acknowledging the fact it's about to start.  
>"OUT OF OUR WAAAY!" Me and Naruto shout, bolting down the streets trying to avoid running into anyone.<br>"NARUTO-NII-CHAN!" We hear and stop, seeing a small kid in a yellow shirt, wearing a long blue scarf.  
>"Konohamaru?" Naruto asks.<br>"I've arrived to save the day!" The boy exclaims.  
>"Konohamaru, why are you here?" Naruto asks.<br>"We'll talk later. Come over here!" He exclaims. Me and Naruto look at each other then jog over to him. Then Konohamaru starts running. "I know of a secret way to get to the stage directly!"  
>"What?" Naruto gushes then smiles big. We hi-five each other then run after Konohamaru.<br>Konohamaru stops at the end of the alley way, tall grass covered the ground and Konohamaru gets down on his hands and knees in it, looking around for something.  
>"Those who conquer the secret passageways conquer time!" Konohamaru exclaims.<br>"Oooh I see!" Naruto says. "You're great Konohamaru!"  
>"There should be a hole in the fence somewhere.." Konohamaru says. "Ah! Here it is.." Konohamaru picks up a small sheet of metal then tenses up.<br>"What is it, Konohamaru?" I ask.  
>"This passageway has been fixed..." Konohamaru says, showing multiple planks of wood nailed over a hole.<br>"WHAAT?" Naruto roars. "We don't have any time left!" He goes to start running when Konohamaru grabs his ankle.  
>"Wait! Onto the next plan!" Konohamaru says.<br>"We seriously don't have any time left!" Naruto gushes. Konohamaru chuckles.  
>"This is a secret, but there's this amazing passageway that will allow you to arrive at the stage in a flash!" Konohamaru exclaims.<br>"Really?" Naruto asks full of hope again. "Alright! Well done, Konohamaru!"

"This hole is a shortcut?" Naruto asks as Konohamaru moves the big metal lid from the ground.  
>"It leads directly to the stage." Konohamaru implies. "I am very sure of it."<br>"Directly, eh?" Naruto asks.  
>"Okay, let's hurry Setsuki!" Naruto says. I nod. Naruto jumps down and I follow.<br>It was pitch black and we were sliding down, Naruto in front of me was screaming while behind him, I was cheering. It was fun!  
>"Look there's the exit now!" I say pointing to a small white hole coming up.<br>"Finally!" Naruto exclaims.  
>We fly out of the hole, but then scream when we find ourselves falling down a waterfall. "Ahh!" Naruto and Konohamaru scream. I was having the time of my life, I was laughing.<br>"Weee!" I cheer, then splash!  
>Underwater Naruto and Konohamaru's skins began to turn red and they surface quickly screaming it was hot. I couldn't feel the temperature of the water, but then again, I've never really been able to. Naruto and Konohamaru jump onto the bridge crossing over the water, and I take my time.<br>"This must be... a mistake of some sort.." Konohamaru says, raising his hands defensively. Naruto steps to him cracking his knuckles.  
>"Konohamaru...!" Naruto shouts. "How the hell did that bring us here?" I notice we're standing outside the hot springs and sweatdrop.<br>"We're even more far away from the place!" I exclaim.  
>"Well, before it led to the stage!" Konohamaru implies. "Let me prepare the next plan.." He looks around and sees four bulls resting under a shelter. Ironically the same bulls that were pulling those carriages earlier this morning. "This is it!"<br>"Eh..." Naruto moans. Konohamaru got one of the bulls out of the shelter and stood beside it.  
>"If we ride this, we'll get to the stage in no time!" Konohamaru exclaims.<br>"Yosh! Onward!" I exclaim, running to the bull. Naruto sighs.  
>"A bull?" Naruto groans.<br>"Don't underestimate it." Konohamaru says, folding his arms. "A feudal lord's bull is different from normal bulls. Once it starts running, it makes racing horses look like a joke. They cannot beat a serious feudal lord's bull. Anyway, this is an amazing bull!"  
>Me and Naruto climb onto it, me at front and him behind me.<br>"Nee-chan, Nii-chan, just leave the rest to this bull, and you'll get to the stage in no time." Konohamaru says.  
>"Okay.. We're counting on this.." Naruto says uneasily.<br>"YAHOO!" I shout, kicking the bull's sides to get it going. It rears up and raises it's head and moos loudly before bucking around. Naruto fell straight off but I was holding on, enjoying every moment. "Yee ha!" I shout. The bull stopped and began sliding it's front leg, getting ready to charge at Naruto. Then I notice the small red dot on Naruto's jacket and sweatdrop.  
>"N.. Naruto-kun.. you may wanna start running.." I say.<br>"AHH!" He shouts while taking off. I had to hold on more skillfully this time.

As Naruto was running, we passed by many other bulls laying around.. they saw the red dot too and joined the chase.  
>"NARUTO JUMP UP!" I shout.<br>"ARE YOU MAD?" He shouts back.  
>"JUST DO IT!"<br>"OKAY!" He shouts then jumps into the air really unsure. I reach one hand up to catch his ankle and sit him down behind me.  
>"YOU MIGHT WANNA HANG ON!" I shout, it was hard to hear over all the bulls mooing.<br>"OKAY!" He shouts back, wrapping his arms around my waist, hugging me for dear life. I paid no attention and kicked to bull again.  
>"YAHOO! FASTER!" I shout, enraging it more.<p>

We begin approaching the entrance to the stage, two Jonin were standing there. "What's that?" One of them ask.  
>"FASTER! WE'RE ALMOST THERE!" I exclaim, kicking the bull again.<br>"STOP IT SETSUKI! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL US?" Naruto shouts into my ear. The bull jumps up the steps and bursts through the doors and onto the stage where everyone else was standing.  
>"OUTTA THE WAY!" I shout, trying to stop the bull who was running straight at them.<br>"WAAH MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!" Naruto screams.  
>"I'M TRYING!" I shout, trying to pull on the ropes tied to it trying to make it stop. Everyone standing around scatters to the sides, staring wide eyed at us. The bull kept running towards the wall.<br>"WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Naruto screams as the wall moved closer to us.  
>"GET OFF IT!" I shout. Naruto blinks, then lets go of me, allowing me to breathe again, and we both jump off the bull as it smashes through the wall. We both land on our butts panting.<br>"What kind of entrance is that?" Shikamaru questions as they all walk over again.  
>"WHAT WAS THAT SHIKAMARU?" I ask.<br>"Gah! Don't yell!" He gushes, poking a finger in his ear to clean it out.  
>"HUH? I STILL CAN'T H-" Shikamaru slaps his hand over my mouth.<br>"Shut up, my ears are ringing." Shikamaru says.  
>"SERIOUSLY WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Naruto asks.<br>"Enough." The proctor says, everyone faces him. Shikamaru lets me go, and we stand up and face him to. I play with my ears because I can't hear what he's saying.  
>"Huh? Hey where's Sasuke?" Naruto asks. I look around for him too.<br>"The Dosu guy who was supposed to fight me isn't here, either." Shikamaru says.  
>"Really? How strange!" I say.<br>"Shut it!" Shikamaru gushes. "Clean your ears out properly."  
>"Hey, you three." The proctor says to us. "Stop walking around. Stand up straight and show you faces to the crowd."<br>"Huh?" Me and Naruto look around seeing three main sheltered buildings filled with people. The top floor of the middle one were two seats.  
>"Who's up there?" I ask.<br>"Hokage-sama and Kazekage." Shikamaru answers. The nine of us stand there as the crowd cheers.  
>"You guys are the main players in the upcoming matches." The proctor says. I gulp quietly, I didn't know there were going to be so many people here.. I just hope I don't accidentally do anything stupid to embarrass myself.<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

We watch as the Hokage stands up and begins to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to Konoha's Chuunin Selection Exam today. We will now begin the main matches with the ten that have passed the preliminaries. Please enjoy the matches." He announces.  
>The crowd began cheering and the proctor faces us. "There are some things I need to tell you before the matches." He says and reaches into his flak jacket and pulls out a piece of paper and shows it to us. "Look at this." I blink. It was all our names in what seemed to be a tournament set out. "There was a little change in the match ups. Check to see who you're going against again." He says. I read it carefully.<br>Uzumaki Naruto verses Hyuuga Neji, Gaara verses Uchiha Sasuke, Kankuro verses Aburame Shino, Temari verses Nara Shikamaru and Aburame Kin verses Kuromizu Setsuki.  
>"Hey. Hey." Naruto says, waving his arm around to get his attention.<br>"What?" The proctor groans putting the paper back in his jacket.  
>"Sasuke hasn't arrived yet." Naruto says. "What are we going to do?"<br>"If he doesn't come here by the time his match starts... he will lose by default."  
>Understanding this, Naruto looks behind us towards the doors.<br>"Listen up." The proctor says. "Although the landscape is different, the same rules apply as in the preliminaries; there are no rules. The match will only end when someone dies or gives up. But if I decide that the match it over, I will stop the match. Do not argue with me over it. Got it? The first match is.. Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji. The rest of you need to go back to the waiting room."  
>They start to walk to the stairs and I nudge Naruto's arm. "Good luck future Hokage." I say, giving him a reassuring smile. This seemed to have made his day, and he nods, getting a fist of courage. I then follow the others up the stairs.<p>

I thought Naruto had lost, he lay there in that small hole in the ground. He didn't look like he could move at all. It had been a ruthless battle, Neji explained his entire past throughout the match too..  
>"Dropout boy, sorry, but this is reality." Neji says. "This is truly the end-" He was cut off by the ground below him cracking; Naruto burst up from the ground, punching Neji's chin, sending him upwards and spitting out blood. Naruto lands on his feet while Neji lands on his back. Naruto was panting heavily, and my eyes widen from the sudden attack.<br>I couldn't help but smile. Neji was motionless, and was cursing because he couldn't move. After a small chat, the proctor raises his arm. "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."  
>The crowd went berserk, and Naruto grew a smile and ran around waving his arms happily. "Yeah! I won! I won! Believe it!" He began blowing kisses in every direction over and over, clearly enjoying himself.<br>"H-He won." Shikamaru says, holding onto the railing.  
>"Does that surprise you?" I ask.<br>"N.. Well.. I wasn't really expecting this outcome." He replies.  
>"Baka!" I gush and hit him over the back of the head.<br>"Ga-ow! What was that for?" Shikamaru questions.  
>"For doubting Naruto-kun." I say, grinning innocently. He grumbles and looks back at the stage.<br>"But I thought he was in the 'not-so-cool' group like me." Shikamaru asks.  
>"Not-so-cool group?" Shino asks, the three of us were standing together.<br>"He's getting all those cheers, which makes him a member of the 'cool group'." Shikamaru says.  
>"Cool group?" Shino says.<br>"Well obviously you and me are in the cool group Shino." I say. Shino tilts his head slightly at me.  
>"And me?" Shikamaru asks.<br>"You're in the not-so-cool group, like you said." I say, then laugh as he grumbles. Medical ninjas carry Neji away on a stretcher and Naruto was still running around claiming he's the best.

Naruto finally comes prancing up behind us with his hands behind his head and the cockiest smile in the world.  
>"I did it! I won! I proved you all wrong! Ha!" He chimes.<br>"Heh, good work Naruto." Shikamaru says. Naruto faces me.  
>"Ame-chan! Hug!" Naruto says grinning and spreading his arms out.<br>"How could I resist a hug from my bestie?" I ask, then hug him, but he bear hugs me, choking me. "T-too.. tight.." I gasp.  
>He chuckles and lets go. I gasp for air. "Who else wants a hug?" Naruto asks, offering his arms to Shikamaru and Shino. They both had the same '….' reaction.<br>"No." Shikamaru finally says. Naruto pouts and puts his hands back behind his head and faces the stage.  
>"So who's next? Who's next?" Naruto asks.<br>"Well, according to that sheet, Sasuke's match should be next." Shikamaru says.

The crowd became impatient and began booing the proctor, demanding the next match.  
>"What's that guy doing?" Shikamaru asks, referring to Sasuke's absence. "Is he planning to not come?"<br>"A wise man keeps away form danger." Shino says.  
>"He made a good decision." Shikamaru says. Me, Naruto and Shikamaru lean down on the railings lazily.<br>"What are you talking about?" Naruto asks. "He'll definitely come." He says, looking around then rests his chin on his arms. I look to my right, at Naruto, then Shikamaru who was looking back and forth between Naruto and Gaara. I blink. Naruto seemed to be glaring at Gaara.  
>"What are we going to do?" I over heard Kankuro muttering to his siblings. "If he doesn't come, our plan is going to..."<br>"Is this bad?" Temari asks him. Kankuro shrugs.  
>'<em>Plan?<em>' I blink a few times, but then shrug it off and face the stage again. Another Jonin was down there speaking to the proctor, then turns to smoke.  
>"Ladies and gentlemen.." The proctor says. "An examinee for the next match has not arrived just yet. Therefore this match will be delayed and we will begin the next match first."<br>I blink a few times. "Next match? Isn't everyone here psyched to watch Sasuke's match?" I ask.  
>"Yeah.. I wonder what's going on. I thought they said they would disqualify him." Shikamaru says. "But..." He whines.<br>"What?" I ask.  
>"That means my match is coming up faster." He whines. I gasp.<br>"Then that means.. my match is coming up faster too!" I exclaim with a big smile.  
>"Heh." Kin scoffs, walking over to us with his hands in his pockets. "Someone is eager to lose in front of the entire village."<br>I stand up straight and turn to Kin, giving a confused smile. "Why are you eager to lose?" I ask.  
>His whole fired up expression dropped. Shino looks at him, like he's waiting for a come back.<br>"I meant you are." Kin grumbles.  
>"No I'm not, you silly.. weird guy, I'm eager to win! Which is exactly what I'll do! I need to prove to Gai-sensei and Komaru-sensei just how strong I've become!" I exclaim, getting fire in my eyes.<br>"Shh..!" Shikamaru gushes, as the proctor was about to speak again. I turn around and lazily lean on the railings again.  
>"Next match up, Kankuro and Aburame Shino. Come down." The proctor says. For some reason, Kankuro seems to be on edge about this. Shino put his hand on the railings, ready to go. Kankuro looks at Temari, she nods at him. I tilt my head.<br>"Kankuro-kun? Are you alright?" I ask.  
>"Huh? Oh, yeah fine." He replies, then clears his throat. "Examiner!" He calls out. "I'm giving up!"<br>"Whaaat?" I howl. "Whaddaya mean you're giving up?"  
>"I mean, I'm giving up! Go to the next match!" Kankuro calls out.<br>"Hm... Kankuro has given up, therefore Aburame Shino wins by default." The proctor says. The crowd became furious, even I had a disappointed look. I also wanted to watch Shino fight so I could pick up some strategies on beating Kin considering they seem the same.  
>Suddenly Temari pulled her fan out and swung it around, creating a powerful wind current in the room we're standing in. Next thing I know Temari was riding on her fan down to the arena. She landed by the proctor.<br>"You are..?" The proctor inquires.  
>"It's my turn, right?" Temari asks.<br>"Looks like you want to do this. Okay, we're going to start the next match. Hey! The other one! Get down here."  
>"Hey now," Shikamaru retorts. "why are you guys getting excited? Actually, why do I have to be the one who gets his match ups changed so frequently."<br>"Nara Shikamaru, it's you." The proctor says.  
>"Alright! Go get her Shikamaru!" Naruto shouts, patting him on the back, making him fall over the railings.<br>"Ahhhhh-" He landed face first on the ground.  
>"Woo! Go get 'em Shikamaru!" I cheer.<br>"Show 'er what us Leaf ninja are made of!" Naruto chimes. Shikamaru frowns at us before slowly standing up, the match then commenced.

After explaining his strategy, Naruto starts to growl and become furious with Shikamaru for giving up right when he had the match his way.  
>"Why did he give up?" Naruto questions. "What an idiot! Now I'm getting mad!" He gushes, hitting the railing. Naruto puts his foot on the railing and jumps off into the stage. "I'll go lecture him!" Naruto runs up to him and points to him. "You idiot!"<br>"Shut up, you super idiot!" Shikamaru gushes back.  
>"Why did you give up?"<br>"That's a matter of the past, now. It's all good now."  
>"No, it's not! You almost won that match! And you gave up right before you won.."<br>"Put that topic aside, and let's get ready to watch the next match."  
>"Totally unacceptable!" Naruto shouts over the top of him. "... Huh? Next?"<br>"That means my match is up next!" I exclaim, then face Kin. "I hope you're ready for this!"  
>"Hn.."<br>"Aburame Kin, Kuromizu Setsuki, come down." The proctor says. I grin and jump down over the railings and run to centre stage. Kin jumps down and walks over. The crowd roared up again as me and Kin face each other.  
>"Alright. Begin."<br>I get into stance now, my stance is similar to Lee's from what Gai-sensei taught me, and I watch him carefully. Kin closes his eyes and stood there.  
>After realizing he's waiting for me to make the first move, I run at him at incredible speed and kick him up into the air suddenly, and by the sound of his grunt, he wasn't expecting this. I kick him a few times to really get him up into the air before doing a backflip and landing back down on my feet, then quickly performing some hand signs.<br>"Suiton: Mizu Teppō!" I then shoot a powerful gush of water from my mouth directly at him while he's helplessly falling. It was a perfect hit and sent him directly into the wall with a loud 'thud'.  
>I get a smug grin, but then I feel something sharp and cold touch the side of my neck.<br>"Gonna have to do better than that.." Kin says behind me. My smug little grin remains.  
>'<em>Mizu Kawarimi<em>..'  
>The kunai held at my neck disappeared momentarily, then Kin went to stab my neck with it, however after using that technique, my body just turned to water straight away.<br>"What?"  
>I had to wait a few minutes for my body to reform, but when it did, I showed to intention of slowing down. Insects immediately came after me, so I draw my Katana and strike at them really fast, but it appeared to do nothing really.<br>I heard Kin sniggering, and it annoyed me. I quickly create a water clone and get out of there, leaving my clone to continue fighting. I saw Kin standing there with his hands in his pockets, it would seem his whole attention was on the insects attacking my clone. I run up behind him.  
>"Konoha Daisenpuu!" I manage to kick him, sending him flying. Only this time a look around making sure he wasn't a clone. But it seems he's the real one.<br>He gets up shocked. "H-how did..?"  
>"Don't underestimate me!" I call then run at him. His insects quickly abandon my clone to rush and protect him, they were also fast. He's defenseless without his insects, so I have to beat them to him if I want to finish him off with this last move. It's going to be close..<p> 


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Just one more step and I'll have him.. however his insects were one step ahead of me, they only just managed to beat me to him in time to block my heavy punch.  
>The slight worry on Kin's face disappears and turns into a smirk. "You're out of luck. Don't underestimate the Aburame clan's insects.."<br>"I will not give up!" I exclaim, then jump backwards a few times, stopping beside my clone.  
>"Let's finish him." She says.<br>"Yes. Double Konoha Daisenpuu should do the trick." I mutter. She nods then together, we run toward him, and almost in perfect sync, we jump and swing a kick towards him.  
>"Double Konoha Daisenpuu!" We shout, however, he raises both hands, catching our ankles.<br>"This will now end it." Kin says. My clone became petrified and disappears, leaving me to try and escape.  
>Because he had hold of my ankle, I fell upside down, but I could touch the ground with my hands, now there's his mistake. I firmly plant my hands in the ground, and use the strength in my arms to swing my body, and because he still had hold of my ankle, I basically flung him in the air.<br>"Wh-aaahhhh!" He cries. I land in a crouching position.. now I just had to get my hands out of the ground..  
>I hear a thud a fair distance behind me, it would have been Kin hitting the ground. "Bōsui no Jin!" He shouts, suddenly a loud irritating buzzing noise appears. I look up seeing insects in a spindle formation about to attack me. I try my hardest to escape but I was too slow, they began pounding me ruthlessly, from every angle, every limb until eventually I was nothing but pain.<br>I manage to stand up again, though swaying slightly. I saw him coming at me, and I stammer backwards as he throws a punch. I felt his knuckles pass my cheek as I barely dodge.  
>'<em>What.. is this? Why do I.. feel so.. heavy?<em>' A brutal punch to my stomach interrupted my thoughts.  
>"Gaahh!" I cry, coughing a bit. The only emotion on Kin's face was a smirk. I squint my eyes in attempt to block out the pain and go to throw a punch which was effortlessly blocked by his insects. They began crawling all over my hands, stinging sensation filled my hands shortly afterwards. Are they, biting me?<br>"As I said earlier.. this is the end." Kin smugly says.  
>"Yeah.. you're right." I pant. He raises an eyebrow and suddenly I clench a fist. "STRONG FIST!" I punch right into his face all within a split second, even though I felt immense pain from the stinging of the insects. I felt something crack as I punch him, I wasn't sure if it was my knuckles.. or his nose.<br>Dirt rises up as he slides across the ground after landing. I look at my fist seeing blood. "Is this from the punch.. or his insects' bites?" I inquire quietly.  
>"OWW OWW OW OW OWW!" Kin cries loudly, both hands covering his blood-filled face and he rolls from side to side. I blink a few times. The proctor looks over at him and winces.<br>"Eugh..." The proctor grouses.  
>"OW OW OW OWW!" Kin continues crying rolling around even more.<br>"The winner is Kuromizu Setsuki.. someone hurry and get over here and take him to the infirmary." The proctor says, looking away from Kin who's hands and face was now covered in blood. Medic nins came quickly and carry him away on a stretcher.  
>"Woohoo! You did Ame-chan!" Naruto cheers. I grin and wave to him, then the crowd roars up again cheering. Now this wasn't something I was used to. I like it. I run around waving at everyone.<br>"I won! Yay!" I cheer.  
>"Setsuki hurry up and get back here!" Shikamaru calls. I frown, how dare he ruin my moment.<br>I run and jump back up over the railings to be greeted by Naruto's bear hug again.  
>"G-ahh! Too tight!" I gasp.<br>"We did it! We're gonna win this thing, believe it!" Naruto exclaims, letting go. I take in a deep breath.  
>"I think I should get my hands checked though.. they hurt." I say, looking at my bloody hands.<br>"Well hurry up, Sasuke's match is next!" Naruto exclaims. I nod and run down the corridor and down some stairs to the infirmary.  
>Inside were six beds. Neji was sitting on one deep in thought and Kin was being treated. "Hi Neji-kun." I say, expecting the usual huff or 'hn'.<br>"Huh? .. Hello." He replies. I blink and stare in awe at him. "... what?"  
>I blink and shake my head, then smile. "Nothing." I reply and walk over to one of the medical nins and get my hands healed.<br>"Setsuki..?" Neji asks. I face him after my hands are healed.  
>"Yeah?"<br>".. Did you win?" Neji asks. '_Why would he want to know that?'_  
>"Well of course I did!" I exclaim then point to Kin in the other bed who had calmed down a bit. Whimpers could still be heard though.<br>"So that's Kin... looks like you got him good." Neji says.  
>"Sure did."<br>".. And what of Uchiha's match?"  
>"Well..! It should be starting about now!" I exclaim.<br>"N.. now? His match was supposed to be after mine.. was it not?" He inquires, seeming to be slightly confused.  
>"Well no, Sasuke didn't show up."<br>"So he was disqualified by default?"  
>"Nah, they put his match on delay and we went through all the other matches first."<br>".. And what outcomes?"  
>"Umm.. Well, Kankuro gave up before they even started, Shikamaru gave up even though he was about to win.. then I won!" I proudly exclaim.<br>"Seems a lot of people are giving up.." He mentions. "And do you know anything of the second round?"  
>"Well no.. but I'm hoping it's gonna be me verses Sasuke, and Naruto-kun verses Shino-kun, then in the finals it'll be me and Naruto-kun!" I say, getting fire in my eyes.<br>"How do you know Uchiha will win? I mean, if he hasn't shown up yet, he'll lose, and if you want Naruto to verse that Aburame, then you will be fighting that sand kid." Neji mentions. I felt a cold breeze suddenly and shiver.  
>"You're right... I don't think I want to verse Gaara.." I mumble.<br>"Even though, when you think about it.. your water jutsu would logically be very effective against him.. however I do not think that is enough." Neji says, folding his arms.  
>"So I should give up?" I inquire.<br>"... That is for you to decide." Neji says. I almost choke. The response I was expecting was "_Only destiny will tell you that._" then again, both responses are just as useless as each other.  
>"That.. doesn't really help me Neji." I say. "But if Sasuke does show up and I verse him in the second round, I can easily put out all his fire jutsu!"<br>"Really? … I heard Uchiha was being trained under Hatake Kakashi.. I think he would have taught Sasuke some electric type jutsu." Neji points out. I sweatdrop.  
>"I'm doomed." I whine, getting blue lines of despair over my head.<br>"Well don't waste your time in here, go out and see if he has turned up.." Neji says. I quickly salute.  
>"Yosh! I will see you around Neji-kun!" I say, then run off.<p>

As I run through the corridor I hear two sets of footsteps running toward my direction, I look around. Then suddenly, from around the corner, Naruto and Shikamaru run toward me, then past me.  
>"Naruto-kun?" I ask. Naruto looks back and stops.<br>"Ame-chan. Come on!" Naruto says, beckoning with a swing of his arm. I run over to them, and they continue running.  
>"Where're we going?" I ask.<br>"To tell Kakashi-sensei to stop this match!" Naruto exclaims.  
>"What ma- Ohh you mean Sasuke showed up after all?" I ask.<br>"Yeah, like two seconds before he was gonna get disqualified. But we gotta stop the match right now!" Naruto exclaims.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto calls as we get into the audience and find him standing in the stairway. I notice Gai-sensei standing there too, and they both turn and face us.  
>"Naruto-kun!" Lee calls happily. I just noticed him standing in front of Gai-sensei. "Oh, and Setsuki-san!"<br>"What is it?" Kakashi asks, looking at the three of us panting.  
>"Sensei, please stop this match right now!" Naruto pleads. "He's... totally different from us. He's not normal!" He shouts.<br>"Naruto." Ino groans. "What are you talking about?"  
>"He lives to kill people. Anyway... at this rate, Sasuke's going to die!" Naruto exclaims. I look down at the stage seeing some sort of giant ball, and Sasuke standing there staring at it. "Kakashi-sensei!"<br>Kakashi turns back to look at the stage, and after a few seconds he replies, "Don't worry."  
>Gai-sensei gives Kakashi an interrogating look, whereas Lee seems annoyed about something. "We were late for a reason." Kakashi says.<br>Sasuke runs at the orb, throwing kunais which were almost immediately blocked, then he jumps to the other side of it, running and goes to punch it, however spikes shoot out from it at the same time. Sasuke jumps backwards but the spikes extend out after him. This continued over and over.  
>"What is that thing?" I ask.<br>"It seems to be that sand boy, Gaara's defense." Gai-sensei answers.  
>"Is it sand?" I ask.<br>"Yes. Very strong sand too." Lee says, not taking his eyes off Sasuke.  
>"So Gaara is in that ball?" I ask.<br>"Yeah, that's why Sasuke's attacking it." Naruto says.  
>Sasuke finally jumps back from it and stares at it as though he's in analyzing it. He then raises his left arm and unclips one of the black straps around his arm.<br>"Sensei?" Sakura asks.  
>"Mmhm?" Kakashi responds.<br>"What do you mean, you two were late for a reason?"  
>"Hmmm. Do you want to know?"<br>"We don't have time for that!" Naruto complains, stamping on the spot.  
>I walk down and stand beside Lee-san, his eyes were clearly focused on Sasuke like he's determining Sasuke's next moves.<br>"Shut up and watch him." Kakashi says, getting everyone's attention. ".. You'll wet your pants."  
>We watch as Sasuke flips backwards a few times, even sliding backwards up the wall. He stops near the top of the wall and begins doing hand signs then puts his hands down in front of him.<br>Electricity began forming in his hand and I blink. '_Neji was right.._'  
>"Huh? Could that be..?" Gai-sensei inquires then looks at Kakashi.<br>"I supervised Sasuke's training... because he is similar to me." Kakashi replies.  
>Sasuke began running down the wall, the electricity in his hand destroyed the wall partly as he ran.<br>"Body activation.. I see." Gai-sensei says. "That's why you made him master taijutsu moves to dramatically increase his speed."  
>"Correct." Kakashi says, arching his eye which would mean he's smiling.<br>"That's amazing... I can see the chakra clearly with my eyes." Sakura says. "How is he doing it?"  
>"What is that?" Naruto questions.<br>"It's making a lot of noise, what is that move?" Sakura asks.  
>"Yeah Kakashi-sensei, please tell us!" I plead.<br>"Just a straight thrust." Gai-sensei says. "But it's Konoha's number one technique specialist... The Copy Ninja Kakashi's only original move."  
>"What?" Naruto asks.<br>"It's a secret move for assassination purposes." Gai-sensei says. "It's secret lies in the speed of the thrust, and the activation of the body to generate a large amount of chakra. Then he concentrates that large amount of chakra into the thrusting arm. And because of the incredible speed he moves at.. It emits a distinct chirping sound similar to a thousand birds chirping. That is why that move is called... Chidori." He explains.  
>Sasuke hit the ball of sand with this 'Chidori', and it looks like it actually went through, even though spikes came out and grazed him at the same time. Everyone gasps, all except for Kakashi of course who must have been expecting this.<br>Tension builds up in the crowd, I could feel it.  
>"Chidori.. Also called Lightning Edge." Gai says, even smiling.<br>"Lightning Edge?" Sakura asks.  
>"That's the alias it took because Kakashi once cut through lightning with that move." Gai says, turning his head to Kakashi.<br>"Cut lightning?" I question, staring with awe at Kakashi. Kakashi raises a hand modestly.  
>"Yes. It's true name is Chidori. And it's secret lies in the human body's fastest attainable speed; the speed of thrust and the chakra accumulated in one's arm." Gai-sensei explains. "The arm turns into a sword that can cut through anything. But you've taught him a reckless move."<br>"I don't want to hear that from you." Kakashi says to Gai, then crouches down to out height. "Right, Lee-kun?"  
>Lee just looks at Kakashi with a blank stare.<br>"I don't really understand the logic.." Sakura says. "But it's an incredible move!"  
>I look at Lee, he looks back at Sasuke with a slight frown. He was silent. I put a hand on his shoulder, gaining his attention.<br>"Are you alright Lee-san?" I ask, a concerned look on my face.  
>"O-oh I'm fine, thanks." He stutters then looks back at Sasuke. I may not be the brightest person in the world, but I could tell something was bothering him.<br>The silence filling the arena seemed to be getting to everyone because they seemed to be becoming restless.  
>"WAAAAHHH! BLOOD! MY BLOOD! AHHH!" Gaara screams. The entire crowd gasps, and Sasuke struggles to get his arm out of the orb.<br>More electricity appears in the hole and Sasuke tries even harder to get free. Slowly, Sasuke did manage to get out however some sort of weird form of sand was clinging onto his arm. It had small spikes sticking out and blue lines which look like veins as a pattern on it.  
>Sasuke, however, pulls his arm free and jumps backwards and this weird 'arm' thing retreats back into the sphere.<br>"What the hell.. is that..?" Gai-sensei asks.  
>"Th.. the monster.." I mutter, talking to myself.<br>"Monster?" Lee asks, snapping me out of my daze. I turn around and face Naruto.  
>"Naruto!" I call. He looks at me and seems to read my thoughts, and he nods in response.<br>"Kakashi-sensei, we have to call off this match!" Naruto exclaims. However Kakashi was too focused on what was happening to hear him.  
>I look back at the sphere and large cracks grow from the small hole. Then the sand collapses and Gaara stood there slouched over as the sand falls off him. He is holding his left shoulder which had blood pouring from it.<br>"Huh?" I notice white feathers fall from out of nowhere and stare curiously at them. "What are..these...?" My eyes began feeling heavy and I could barely keep them open. I fell over snoring.

I felt a small tap on my shoulder and suddenly I felt my energy return. I open my eyes seeing Sakura kneeling beside me, crouched down low.  
>"Saaakura-chan?" I ask, sitting up. "What's wrong?"<br>"I'll explain later. Just stay down for now.." She says, pushing my head down. I pout then hear repetitive 'cling' sounds.  
>"What's that sound?" I ask.<br>"Shh!" She gushes then crawls up the stairs to Naruto and Shikamaru who were sleeping. I blink a few times and follow, crawling of course. Suddenly, Gai-sensei's foot appears in front of my face. I blink from the sudden movement.  
>"Setsuki, I have a favour to ask of you." Gai-sensei says, looking around carefully.<br>"What is it?" I ask.  
>"Take Lee back to the hospital. This is an official mission."<br>"Eh?" I look around seeing many Sound ninjas attacking. "What the?"  
>"Go!" Gai-sensei orders. I tense up slightly from the yell then look back seeing Lee passed out on the step. "I'll cover you on your way out, but you must be extremely careful."<br>"Yes Gai-sensei." I reply and crawl to Lee and carefully slide him onto my back, trying not to upset his left side. I make eye contact with Gai-sensei and we nod to each other.  
>"Now!" We both say, then I stand up and bolt past Naruto and the other two and I hear multiple kunai flying my way.<br>"Konoha Daisenpuu!" Gai shouts, kicking them off target, allowing me to get to the door.

I run as fast as I can while carrying Lee down the stairs, after a while I could see the exit. However some mysterious cloaked figure jumps in the door way seconds before I reach it, and I turn my feet to the side, sliding a bit as I stop. I jump back.  
>"Who are you!" I inquire.<br>"Hm, going somewhere?" He speaks. The black cloak, and the ANBU mask.. '_Is he a Konoha ANBU?_'  
>"Yes." I bluntly reply. "Please, get out of the way."<br>"Hm. No. I don't think so. The fewer who escape the better." He says. My eyes widen slightly.  
>"Tch.." '<em>An enemy.. great..<em>' I realize my hands are full, and I cannot properly fight with Lee on my back.  
>"What's the matter?" He scoffs. "Would you rather hold on to your friend and die along with him, or ditch him and save yourself?"<br>"Never! I standby my friends no matter what!" I exclaim.  
>"Then how do you intend on beating me?" He sniggers. He had me there. I quickly examine the walls, noticing they're strong, but could be broken with the right amount of force.<br>"Don't underestimate me!" I say. I run and jump at the wall. "Konoha Daisenpuu!" I kick the wall, creating a large crack, but no hole.. that plan failed. The man laughs out of pity.  
>"How pathetic, now let me try." He says. He raises his hands flat in front of him, his finger tips pointing at each other. "Chakura no Mesu." He says, then his hands glow blue. "Get touched with this and it will result in a serious injury." He scoffs, then runs at me. His speed was something I didn't expect, and I lunge to the side, barely dodging. But now the door was empty. I bolt.<br>The person chased close behind me. "Running from battle is a foolish thing.. Setsuki." He says. Something clicked in my mind, my eyes widen and I gasp slightly.  
>"K... Kabuto-itoko?" I question. He sniggers in response, then suddenly jumps in front of me, forcing me to stop. He hits his mask off his face.<br>I couldn't believe it, he looks nothing like he did when we were children, he used to be so.. kind, friendly, gentle but now.. his eyes show he wants blood to be spilled. I couldn't believe it one bit. Even my body began to tremble slightly.  
>"You still look as innocent as all those years ago." He says, getting a cocky expression. I slide my foot back.. out of fear?<br>"W.. what do you mean? Why are you doing this!" I question.  
>"Orochimaru-sama's orders." He sniggers. I gasp again.<br>"Y-you follow.. _him_?" I stutter. I hear many footsteps around me, then look around at many Suna Jonins standing around me in a circle.  
>"Kabuto-san, let us handle this." One of them spoke. Kabuto nods and puts his mask back on.<br>"So long, Setsuki." Kabuto says as he jumps away. I look at all the Jonin and gulp.  
>"Hmph, one enemy this will be easy. The rest of you go on, I'll handle her." Says one. The others all nod and jump off.. except for one. I'm face to face with two enemies, Jonin level, foreign country, unknown skills, unable to fight properly... I'm doomed.<br>They both snigger and step forward with kunais at hand.  
>"Crap.." I curse and take two steps backwards, I felt something stop Lee which prevented me from going further. I look behind me noticing he is between me and a wall. "Shit..." I jerk him back up on my back properly and hold his legs firmer.<br>Both Jonin run at me, and suddenly my life flashed before my eyes, there was no escape for me...


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

I close my eyes preparing for the hit.  
>"Eight Trigrams; Sixty-Four Palms!"<br>"GA-AHHHH!"  
>I slowly open one eye seeing someone standing in front of me, and both Suna Jonin on the ground. That long brown hair..<br>"Neji-kun!" I question. He turns his head back smirking confidently at me.  
>"I will handle these two, you go." He says.<br>"A-are you sure?" I ask. He nods and faces them again.  
>"I'll help Neji." Tenten says, running up to us. Neji shakes his head.<br>"No. Tenten, you must make sure Setsuki gets to wherever she's going." Neji says.  
>"But-"<br>"No buts. Go!" Neji orders, then faces the two Jonin slowly getting up. Tenten was hesitant about leaving him. I saw Lee's right hand twitch and he groans.  
>"What... happened?" He asks, slowly opening his eyes and lifting his head.<br>"Just hang on Lee-san, we'll be back at the hospital in no time!" I exclaim.  
>"Hospital?" Lee asks, then looks around at the scene. "Neji, Tenten? What is going on? Why are those Sand ninja attacking?"<br>"We'll explain later." Neji says. "Now go Setsuki!"  
>"Yosh-"<br>"No! Let me fight!" Lee pleads.  
>"No, Lee-san, you can't fight someone like that.. especially in your condition.." I retort.<br>"But.. Setsuki-san.."  
>"Sorry Lee-san.."<br>"Lets go Setsuki!" Tenten says, tugging on my shirt and jumps off.  
>"Coming." I say then jump off after her. I felt Lee's head turn back to look at Neji.<br>"What about Neji?" Lee asks.  
>"He'll be fine.." Tenten says. "So we're going to the hospital right?"<br>"Yeah, that's what Gai-sensei sai- What the!" I immediately stop jumping and stare in horror.  
>"What is it!" Lee inquires then looks up seeing it too. Tenten stops as well.<br>"What the hell?" She gushes. I take a step back.. giant three headed snakes are not my thing. I watch it crush a few buildings as it moves around.  
>"... Looks like we're not going to the hospital then.." I mention.<br>"Yeeaah no. Where should we go then?" Tenten asks.  
>"Ahhhh!" A Konoha Jonin cries being tossed through the air. He lands with a small slide on the same roof we're standing on. He stands up and holds his left up. I recognize him straight away.<br>"Komaru-sensei!" I exclaim. He turns around with a 'huh?'.  
>"Setsuki!" He says. "What are you doing here? Get to the evacuation center now!"<br>"Evacuation center.. got it!' I say. "Hold on Lee-san, I'm gonna go fast."  
>".. Alright." Lee replies and puts both hands on my shoulders. I notice blood soaking through the bandages on his left hand but it appears to be dry, it must have been there for a while. I turn my head back to look at him, he seemed to realize what I was looking at then looks away shamefully. I get a slight sad face but then clear my throat and begin running.<br>"Come on Tenten." I say.  
>"Huh- hey! Wait up!" Tenten calls and chases.<br>"I'll come with you to make sure you get there." Komaru-sensei says.  
>"In that case, someone should go find Neji!" Tenten mentions.<br>"Neji?" Komaru-sensei asks.  
>"Yes! But.. Komaru-sensei doesn't know what Neji-kun looks like, do you?" I ask.<br>"Well no.. not really. But describe him to me."  
>"Neji has white eyes because he's from the Hyu-"<br>"Long brown girly hair, scary white eyes, brown shorts and is strong." I quickly say, cutting Tenten off.  
>"Hyuuga with long brown hair. Got it." Komaru says then jumps off.<br>"OTHER WAY SENSEI!" I shout. He stops and blinks. Tenten points.  
>"Right.." Komaru-sensei says, then jumps in the direction Tenten is pointing.<p>

I run up the stairs headed towards the door to the evacuation center when suddenly something grabs my foot, causing me to fall over face first on the stairs. "OW!"  
>"S-Setsuki! Are you okay!" Lee inquires, trying to get off me.<br>"Yeah, I-I'm fine." I reply, trying to block out the small pain then stand up, trying to slide him back onto my back, but he fought against it.  
>"I can walk from here." Lee implies.<br>"But your crutch..!" I exclaim. Lee shakes his head.  
>"It is fine, I will manage. Please do not hurt yourself." Lee says, giving me a sympathetic look.<br>"Guys, hurry up." Tenten calls from the few stairs ahead she was.  
>"We're coming!" I exclaim, immediately grabbing Lee's good arm and wrapping it around my shoulders. He gives me a questionable look. "What?"<br>"What are you doing?"  
>"I'm helping you." I bluntly reply, then look to see what tripped me. It was a vine laying across a step.<br>"It is fine. I can manage." Lee says, trying to get his arm back.  
>"Lee this isn't the time! Let her help you!" Tenten shouts. Lee looks down and I felt slightly sad.<br>"Come on.." I say softly. Lee nods slowly and begins trying to walk but doesn't look up.

It was slow but we managed to get there. Nearly the whole town was in here, and I never realized how big the evacuation centre is.  
>"SETSUKI!"<br>"Huh?" I turn my head and see uncle Takashi running toward me.  
>"Thank goodness you're alright!" He says, wanting to give me a hug but realizes I'm helping Lee so he can't.<br>"Yeah, I'm fine." I say, then blink a few times. "Wait, weren't you going to come watch my match?"  
>"Yeah I was on my way when I saw some mysterious men walking around and they were talking about some plan so I got side-tracked." He explains, scratching the back of his head.<br>"Oh okay."

The entire time we were in there was extremely quiet, and after a few hours Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei, Komaru-sensei and a few other Jonin enter, all having sorrowful expressions. Neji was also with them, standing beside Gai-sensei.  
>"What is it?" Iruka-sensei asks them. They remain silent for a while before Gai-sensei finally speaks up..<p>

"Hokage-sama... has fallen in battle..."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"Hokage-sama... has fallen in battle..."  
>Gasps fill the room. People began shouting out from shock.<br>"What do you mean Sarutobi-sama is dead!"  
>"Yeah! He's the Hokage! He can't die!"<br>"This is an outrage!"  
>"Everyone! Silence!" Kakashi shouts, then sighs to himself. "This is the doing of Orochimaru. It would appear Otogakure and Sunagakure created an alliance to destroy Konohagakure. But we've chased them out, destruction has been done, but we're still standing. We must work together and rebuild."<br>Gai nods at him. "We'll have to talk to the feudal lords about our next Hokage.." He mutters to Kakashi.  
>"Yes, and also about Sarutobi-sama's ceremony." Kakashi mutters back. They nod to each other then disappear within a puff of smoke.<br>Neji walks over to me, Lee and Tenten. "Neji, are you alright?" Tenten asks, seeming concerned. After all he did seem pretty battered.  
>"Yes I'm fine." Neji says.<br>"That's good..." Tenten says then sighs of grief. Everyone, including me was staring at the ground, taking a moment of silence for Hokage-sama. A sobbing interrupted the silence. I look over seeing Konohamaru shedding countless tears and clinging to Iruka-sensei who was sympathetically rubbing Konohamaru's back.  
>"It's not fair!" Konohamaru cries. "Why did Grandpa have to go.. Why?"<br>I could see that Iruka-sensei didn't really know what to say.  
>Neji sighs. "Come on, lets get back into the village." He says. We nod and I look at Lee. He had that stubborn expression, he wants to walk on his own this time.<br>"... Hold on, I'll be back in a jiffy." I say, they look at me and I run out the door.

I run back to where the main matches were held, and through the corridors, up the many stairs and into the crowd which were still sleeping. I saw a few Sound ninjas either unconscious or dead laying around, and one or two Konoha Jonin the same. I look around where we were standing beforehand and see Lee's crutch laying on the step.. it had a crack in it. I pick it up and determine it's condition.  
>It seems fine enough for now. I run back to the evacuation center where people were already leaving. I wait until I see them three walk out. Tenten had Lee's arm over her shoulder and Neji was walking in front of them.<br>"Lee-san!" I call, then run to him. "Here." I say, holding out his crutch.  
>"Oh! Thank you Setsuki-san." Lee says, taking it with his bandaged arm and removing his other arm from Tenten.<p>

I walk with them back to the main street of the village. It was slow because of Lee but I didn't care, I walked beside him the entire time.  
>"I seriously can't believe he's..." Tenten says.<br>"Yeah.." I reply.  
>"That Sunagakure.. we were allies and they betrayed us.. now we're without a Hokage, things are going to be on edge from now on." Neji says.<br>"What do you mean?" Tenten asks.  
>"Think about it.. word will get out, and other village's will be tempted to attack us. After all Konoha is the strongest village in military terms." Neji explains.<br>"Then we must become stronger.." Lee says, still staring at the ground. Neji sighs.  
>"Lee, when they said your body was too severely injured to be a shinobi, they meant it." Neji grumbles. I notice Lee tense up.<br>"Neji!" Tenten gushes.  
>"What? It is the truth, you know that as well Tenten!" Neji shouts.<br>".. Yeah! But that's no reason to-"  
>"Stop it.." Lee says in a small sigh. Neji turns his back to Lee with a huff and Tenten looks at him. Lee stops walking, still staring at the ground, but only now I couldn't see his face and his body began shaking slightly. Tears fell from his face and drop down to the ground. I felt bad. I wanted to say something but I didn't know what. "J-Just stop it.."<br>"Lee for God's sake, you can't be a ninja anymore! Just accept it!" Neji snaps, turning back to Lee. Lee looks up at him, tears rolling down his cheeks.  
>"I will be! I will not allow these injuries to stop me!" Lee shouts back. Tenten backs off and I step forth.<br>"You will kill yourself doing that! Are you an idiot or what!" Neji shouts, clenching a fist. I could see an attack coming. I just hoped Lee wouldn't shout back and provoke him.  
>"I have worked so hard to get where I am! I will not give up now!" Lee shouts. Neji growls and goes to attack to knock some sense into Lee.<br>"Neji!" Tenten shouts, trying to make him stop, but he ignores her. Lee raises his good arm to block. I jump between them, taking Neji's punch into my stomach. I choke.  
>"S.. Setsuki!" Lee stutters.<br>"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Neji questions.  
>"It's.. disrespectful to attack someone when they can't fight back. Especially your own teammate!" I exclaim, building up some courage to shout at him.<br>"Tch." Neji turns around and walks off.  
>"Setsuki! Are you alright!" Tenten panics stepping over to me frantically.<br>"Yeah. I'm fine, don't worry about it." I say, then cough.  
>"Setsuki, why did you..?" Lee asks. I turn around to face him.<br>"Don't worry about it. As I said, you're in no condition to fight.." I say. Lee quickly wipes the tears from his cheeks with his good arm. I put a hand on my stomach because it really hurt but I didn't want to show it.  
>".. Lee don't let Neji get to you, he's just being a jerk." Tenten says.<br>"I know..." Lee says, not facing either of us. Tenten sighs.  
>"Come on, lets get you back to the hospital." Tenten says. ,<br>".. No. I will walk there myself." Lee says, and begins walking again. Me and Tenten stand there and watch.  
>"Tenten?" I ask in a soft voice.<br>"Yeah?"  
>"Do they always fight like that?" I ask. Tenten rubs her arm.<br>"Well.. yeah." Tenten says. "Neji thinks he's better than Lee so.."  
>"And.. Lee thinks the opposite right?" I ask.<br>"Sorta. Lee thinks he'll surpass Neji one day, but Neji thinks otherwise.. this argument has been going on like, forever." She says then sighs. "I'm scared that one day things will get out of hand. Especially if there's a repeat of just before.. speaking of which, are you sure you're alright? I mean, that looked like it hurt."  
>"It.. hurts a bit, but I'll be fine." I say, still holding my stomach.<br>"Alright.. well lets go get something to eat." Tenten says.  
>"... Ichiraku Ramen?" I ask.<br>"Sure."

Later on that evening, when the sun was almost ready to set, I take a walk, alone. I didn't like it much, but I have to grow out of his fear.  
>I wonder out of the village with my hands in my pockets, staring at the ground, just thinking about Hokage-sama's death.<p>

It wasn't too long before I found myself in the training grounds. I look at the three vertical logs for a moment but then something caught my eye. Blood. I look around wondering if someone has been here. But the grass was empty as usual. I look up at the sky seeing dark clouds slowly rolling in.  
>"In for some rain tonight.." I mutter to myself. "And it's getting late." I turn around to walk but something was paranoid about something. I didn't know what, but it was annoying. I look around again. '<em>The training grounds are empty.. there's nothing here. What am I worrying about?<em>' "Maybe it's Lee-san.." I think aloud. "I should go visit him on my way home." I walk around, circling the training grounds just in case.  
>Something else caught my eye in the grass. I had to look carefully, but there was a small trail of blood. I follow it and it lead into some bushes and past a few trees. I look around and saw something. My eyes widen.<br>"Lee!" I shout, seeing him laying on the ground. I run over to him and kneel down. His eyes are closed and I hoped he was severely injured. "Lee wake up!" I shout, shaking his arm slightly. I notice blood coming from his knuckles on his good hand.  
>"One... mo..re..." Lee croaks and his arms shake.<br>"What?" I ask. His eyes didn't open it was like he was still unconscious. "Have you.. been doing push ups?" I ask. There was no response and I sigh. "You push yourself too much.. more than Naruto-kun." I pick him up and carry him on my back and see his crutch leaning against a tree and wonder how to carry it back with me. Upon closer inspection, I notice it's broken and sweatdrop. "Looks like you're going to need a new crutch." I say. But again, no response.

I run back to the hospital, and once, inside was slightly demolished, but still in good enough condition to use.  
>"Oh, what happened here?" A nurse asks, walking over to me curiously.<br>"Hm? Oh, this is Lee-san, I think he snuck out of the hospital before. I found him like this in the training grounds and his crutch is broken." I explain.  
>"Lee-san? Hm, let me go check the records." She says and goes behind the counter and flicks through a book. "Lets see.. Rock Lee... Rock Lee... hm, nope, I'm afraid Lee-san didn't check in today, but here it says someone by the name of Maito Gai has signed here to uncheck him this morning, but he hasn't checked back in." She says.<br>"He didn't check back in?" I ask. She shakes her head.  
>"So he didn't go to the hospital back then.." I mumble.<br>"Sorry?"  
>"Oh, nothing."<br>"Alright, well.. lets get him checked in again." She says and scribbles something down in the book. "Now I'll take you to his room." She says, coming out from behind the desk. I nod and follow her down the hallway to his room. I lay him down in his bed while the nurse checks his file at the end of his bed. "Oh, I heard about this. Crushed arm and leg.. poor boy." She says then puts it down.  
>"Yeah..." I reply, looking at the sweat pouring off Lee's head.<br>"And you said you found him on the training grounds? What on earth was he doing there in his condition?"  
>"I.. dunno." I reply.<br>"You seem very concerned, are you his girlfriend?" She asks. My eyes widen slightly and I face her shaking my hands.  
>"Oh no no no, we're just good friends!" I exclaim.<br>"Oh, my apologies." She says, giving a small giggle. I scratch the back of my head out of awkwardness. "Well, visiting hours are technically finished, but I'll let you stay here for about 10 minutes, okay?"  
>"Oh, thank you." I reply, giving her a quick bow before she leaves.<br>I face Lee again and put my hand on his forehead, he was very warm. I sigh. "You try so hard.. but if you don't try and recover, you never will.." I mutter, taking my hand away. I walk over to the small sink and grab a small face washer and wet it then wring it out and fold it up and sit it on Lee's forehead. His face then seemed to lose tension and he began to look at peace. ".. Take it easy from now on.. goodnight Lee-san." I say then head home.

The next morning those same grey clouds as yesterday linger in the sky. I look through my cupboard finding a black dress and put it on and do my hair up as nicely as I could then go downstairs. Uncle Takashi was wearing a black suit.  
>"Ready to go?" He asks. I nod.<p>

As we went outside I could hear thunder and I didn't like it. I stay close beside Takashi because I hate storms.  
>We get to the top of the Hokage Mansion and stand around. At the front was a coffin and Sandaime's pictures. The two village elders stand up the front staring at them.<br>Just as they began speaking, the rain began to fell.  
>"The funeral for the Third Hokage, who lost his like in this battle..." Homura speaks. ".. as well as the other victims who gave their lives, will begin now."<br>We all lower our heads in respectful silence. At the front I could hear Konohamaru sobbing. Beside him, Iruka-sensei puts an arm on Konohamaru's shoulder to comfort him.  
>Later on we all line up and place a white flower on the tables for Sandaime. We then stood around quietly talking to one another when suddenly the rain stopped and the sun peers through the clouds, shining directly onto Sandaime's picture, then eventually the clouds disappear, giving a nice blue sky.<p>

"Ame-chan!" Naruto calls.  
>"Yes? Naruto-kun?" I ask<br>"Wanna go get some ramen?" He asks, I was wondering about his big smile, after all I thought he'd be very sad about all this.  
>"You bet I do!" I exclaim.<br>"Haha! Race you there! One two GO!" Naruto says then starts running.  
>"Wh- hey! Naruto!" I whine and chase after him. "Head starts are unfair!" I exclaim.<br>"I never said I was playing fair!" Naruto chuckles. I roll my eyes laughing and keep running.

"One large serving of miso ramen with roasted pork fillet please Teuchi-san!" Naruto shouts then dives into the store. Teuchi, inside, laughs.  
>I run inside a few seconds after. "Just plain miso please Teuchi-san." I say.<br>"Sure thing." Teuchi chuckles. "Ayame, heat up the pots!"  
>"Already on it!" Ayame calls back.<p> 


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Naruto and I slurp our ramen down in almost perfect sync.  
>"Thanks for the food Teuchi-san!" We both say in unison.<br>"Haha, anytime." Teuchi replies. We both put money down on the counter and walk out.

"So what now?" Naruto asks, walking with his hands behind his head.  
>"Eh, I guess we could go see Lee-san?" I suggest. Naruto raises an eyebrow towards me.<br>"You've been seeing Bushy Brows a lot lately... ooooh is there something going on between you two ehh?" He asks, leaning his head close to mine, giving me that cheesy grin.  
>"... No." I reply.<br>"Sure~!" He drawls out.  
>"I mean it!" I exclaim.<br>"Ame-chan's in love with Bushy Brows~ Ame-chan's in love with Bushy Brows!" He chirps. I fold my arms, not impressed by his childish behaviour.  
>"Are you?" Ino questions, walking over. I sweatdrop and shake my hands really fast.<br>"No no no, he's just being childish, don't mind him." I exclaim. Ino gets a smirk and puts a finger on her shoulder. I blink.  
>"In that case... you must tell him!" She squeals.<br>"Huh? Tell who what?" I ask.  
>"Tell Lee-san that you're in love with him!" Ino says.<br>"N-"  
>"Setsuki!" Tenten exclaims from out of nowhere.<br>"GAH!" I jump.  
>"You like Lee?" She questions.<br>"I know! It's so surprising! I never saw it coming!" Ino exclaims.  
>"Awww you two would be so cute together!" Tenten squeals. I back off.<br>"Uhh guys I'm not..." I trail off.  
>"You're not confident enough to tell him?" Ino asks. "Ohh, don't worry, we can fix that!" Ino says, putting an arm around my shoulders and smiling happily at me. I lean my head away from her and face Naruto who was sniggering to himself. Tenten puts her arm around my shoulders standing on the other side of me.<br>"Come on, we'll go together! I'm sure it would really brighten his day to know this!" Tenten exclaims.  
>"Uhh I-I'm not actually-"<br>"It doesn't matter if you're sure or not, we'll support you!" Ino says.

They drag me away and I kept praying that we wouldn't find Lee because this is very awkward. However, things are against me today, and we found him strolling around a street beside Gai-sensei.  
>"There he is!" Ino squeals, gaining their attention. They push me over to them and stand <span>right<span> behind me.  
>Lee and Gai-sensei blink at us and stop walking. "Tenten, Setsuki-san? What's going on?" Lee asks.<br>"My thoughts exactly." Gai-sensei says.  
>"Oh, Gai-sensei will make this more weird." Tenten says. I sweatdrop.<br>"Me?" Gai-sensei asks.  
>"Come on~" Tenten chirps and pushes Gai-sensei away, leaving Ino standing behind me, trying to nudge me toward Lee. My fringe covers my eyes out of embarrassment. Lee tilts his head out of confusion..<br>"Hey, Setsuki, what's going on?" Sakura asks, walking over. I sink down lower.  
>"Sakura!" Ino exclaims, Lee's attention snaps straight to Sakura and I look up noticing his cheeks turn slightly pink. "Get over here!" Ino says, reaching out and grabbing Sakura's shirt then pulls her behind me.<br>"What's going on?" Sakura whispers.  
>"Setsuki's gonna confess." Ino whispers back. I so hoped Lee didn't hear that.<br>"Confess? To who Setsuki-san?" Lee inquires, his eyes slowly turning to me from Sakura. I tense up.  
>"O-oh nothing." I stutter. "Nothing at all.. heh heh.." I laugh nervously. I felt Ino punch my back gently, and it stirred up my stomach where Neji punched me yesterday. I put a hand on my stomach.<br>"Go on!" Ino hisses quietly in my ear.  
>"It is okay, I wont tell anyone! I promise!" Lee exclaims, giving me a thumbs up with his good hand.<br>"Yeah, tell him." Ino says, giving me a few winks. Sakura looks at Ino, then me, then at Lee like she's thinking.  
>"Um..." I begin.<br>"Hold on a minute." Sakura says, we all face her. "Setsuki, come with me~" She chirps, placing a hand on my shoulder then drags me away a few feet. I blink at her. "Do you really like Lee-san?" She asks with a smile.  
>"Uh, as a friend of course but I'm not in love with him." I answer.<br>"Ah, so Ino misinterpreted it.. again." Sakura says.  
>"It?" I ask.<br>"Well you see, when someone says they like another person, Ino thinks that it means they're in love with them." Sakura explains.  
>"But it wasn't Ino." I say.<br>"Huh?"  
>"It was Naruto. He asked me if there was anything between me and Lee-san and I said no, and he began singing that I was in love with him." I bluntly explain. Her expression becomes a frown. "Then Ino walked past and heard it and well.. you know."<br>"Yeah, I know... Gaargh! Naruto! How dare he be such an idiot!" Sakura shouts. "I'm gonna knock that knucklehead off! Cha!" She exclaims then marches off.  
>A few seconds later Ino grabs the collar of my shirt and drags me back over and stands me in front of Lee again.<br>"What is going on?" Lee inquires.. again.  
>"Setsuki, tell him, you'll feel better, trust me." Ino says, giving me a pat on the shoulder. I clear my throat.<br>"Lee-san.." I begin.  
>"Yes?" He replies. Ino got the biggest smile and I thought for a second then smile at Lee.<br>"How are you feeling today?" I ask.  
>"Oh, fine. And.. yourself?" He asks.<br>"I'm good." I reply.  
>"Hurry it up." Ino whispers. I step forward, away from her and toward Lee.<br>"Lee-san, there's something important I have to tell you." I say.  
>"Oh? What is it?"<br>"Well.." I begin.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

His eyes widen in shock and I smile happily emphasizing the truth of my statement. "R-really?" He asks.  
>I nod. "Yup." I reply.<br>"I-I do not really know what to say.." Lee says, scratching his arm in thought. Ino folds her arms and huffs, looking away from us.  
>"It's true, every word." I say, smiling slightly bigger.<br>"I did not expect that.." Lee says, looking down in thought, then looks up again moments later. "I would never have guessed that Sakura-chan likes Umeboshi." I smile more.  
>"I believe that if you offer some to her, she'll surely like you a lot more!" I exclaim. Lee smiles hugely at me.<br>"Thank you Setsuki-san!" He says, getting anime tears. Ino huffs again. I give Lee a thumbs up, I believe it's something easy to pick up. Ino gives me an irritated look and I stick my tongue out at her making her walk away. ".. um, Setsuki-san."  
>"Hm?"<br>"What did Tenten mean by Gai-sensei making 'this' more weird?" He asks. I sweatdrop.  
>"Uhh.. I don't know.." I reply.<br>"Oh.. odd."  
>"Very. Well, I'll go find him if you want." I say, smiling.<br>"Really? Thanks Setsuki-san." He says. I quickly salute and jump off to find Gai-sensei.

I found him and Tenten speaking in the next street and jump down beside Tenten, making her jump.  
>"Setsuki don't do that!" Tenten gushes.<br>"Heh, sorry." I say, scratching the back of my head.  
>"Setsuki!" Gai-sensei exclaims.<br>"Hai?... uh.. something wrong?" I ask, noticing tears rolling down his face.  
>"You are in love with my beloved Lee?" He asks, sniffling.<br>"Ehh? N-no! We're just friends!" I exclaim. He blinks and his tears disappear and his 'proud' expression disappears and his face becomes straight.  
>"Then why did you say she was Tenten! I thought it was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard!" Gai exclaims.<br>"Err, well I heard-"  
>"NARUTO I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" I hear Sakura shout, then I notice Naruto running for dear life away from Sakura who was on his tail with a large anime vein. The three of our heads follow them as they run past.<br>"... As you were saying Tenten?" Gai asks, turning back to us after they run out of sight.  
>"Er, I heard that kid singing it so I assumed that Setsuki did actually.." Tenten explains.<br>"Tenten. Lesson number one about Naruto, you can't always trust what he says." I mention.  
>"Lesson?" She mutters to herself.<br>"Yup, now come on Gai-sensei!" I say, grabbing his arm. He blinks.  
>"Where are we going now?" He asks.<br>".. Back to Lee-san." I reply.  
>"Oh! Off we go!" He exclaims then jumps off, leaving us there.<br>"You coming?" Tenten asks.  
>"Of course!" I reply. We both run after Gai-sensei.<p>

Two days later the village was blanketed in a thick coat of mist, and it was very cold. I lay in bed cocooned in my blankets shivering.  
>"Setsuki, come on, get up." Takashi says, coming into my room.<br>"It's too cold." I reply.  
>"The mist wont last all day, it'll disappear once the sun comes out." He says.<br>"But it's too cold. Can't I wait until the sun rises?" I whine.  
>"No. Come on, I thought you were the one who said you wanted to be more healthy."<br>"I am healthy!"  
>"Healthier."<br>"I can't possibly become any he-"  
>"Ramen, ice cream.." He says. I get anime tears.<br>"But I love them.."  
>"And do you see my point now?" He asks.<br>"Yeah... but it's still too cold.." I say. He sighs.  
>"Fine. At least I'll get to eat my toast today." He says then leaves the room.<p>

I lay in bed until 7am when the sun was rising and the mist began disappearing and it warmed up. I jump up and get dressed, run downstairs and grab a muffin on the way out of the door.  
>I notice many people rebuilding and I decide help them with carrying a few wood planks to replaces the roofs.<p>

I did this until about midday when I became worn out and covered in sweat. Who knew rebuilding could be so tiring? I was headed home along the stream kicking a small stone along when it rolled off the side and into the water. I pout slightly looking at where it fell when suddenly I bump into someone. I immediately take a step back and look at the person. "Er sorry." I say, but I was left unheard. There was a woman standing next to him, and I could recognize them both as Kurenai and Asuma. They were facing away from me, and I look at what they're facing. Two mysterious people in black cloaks with a red cloud pattern and wearing big straw hats with cloth hanging down, hiding their heads. I blink a few times. They seem to have noticed me, but did nothing, and Asuma and Kurenai didn't seem to notice me.  
>"You're not from this village, are you?" Asuma growls. "Why did you come here?"<br>"It's been a while, Asuma-san, Kurenai-san." Says the shorter of the two mysterious people.  
>"If you know us, you must be a former ninja of this village." Asuma says. They were silent for a moment then the shorter one lifts his hand up and grabs the front of his hat and lifts it up, revealing red eyes. Both Kurenai and Asuma gasp.<br>"Y-You're..." Asuma stutters. The person pulls his hat off and holds it down beside him, then using his other hand, unbuttons the first few buttons on his cloak. He looks strangely familiar, yet I've never seen him before. "No doubt about it, it's..." Asuma says. "Uchiha.. Itachi."  
>My eyes widen as I remember being told about the Uchiha clan massacre. '<em>Th.. that's Itachi!<em>'  
>"You know these people, Itachi-san?" The other mysterious person speaks. "Then I should introduce myself, too." He lifts his arm and pulls his hat off too and chucks it on the ground. "Hoshigaki Kisame. Nice to make your acquaintance."<br>'_Is he a walking shark?_'  
>"You're not making any acquaintances here.." Asuma says. "I'm going to eliminate you two right here, right now."<br>"Itachi-san, it seems like you're hated in this village." Kisame says.  
>"I also know you." Kurenai speaks. "Hoshigaki Kisame, former Kirigakure ninja. You're a renegade ninja wanted by numerous countries, including the Country of Water, for assassinating a feudal lord and sabotage as well as various other crimes..."<br>"You're S-rank felons in the bingo book." Asuma says. "Itachi, you came back to this village after what you pulled.. you've got a lot of guts coming here."  
>"Asuma-san, Kurenai-san.." Itachi says. "Please don't get involved with my work. I have no intention of killing you."<br>"That's not something that a guy who killed his own clan members can say." Asuma says. "I know that you wouldn't come here without a reason... What is your purpose?"  
>Kisame suddenly grabs the handle to the thing on his back and slams it to the ground, making me jump slightly. "This person is quite annoying. Shall I kill him?"<br>"It looks like we cannot leave this village without a fight.. but don't overdo it." Itachi says. "Your moves stand out too much."  
>"Then it's settled." Kisame says in a ghostly voice, making me shiver. He looks at me with fierce eyes, completely scaring me. He picks up the sword and sits it on his shoulder. Itachi lets his hat fall and it was like it fell in slow motion. I take a step back not wanting any part in this fight. As soon as it touched the ground Kisame swings his sword at Asuma, but Asuma jumps backwards just in time, then Kisame jumps forth and slides behind me and holds the sword in front of me near my neck. I tense up and gulp from fear. His movements are so fast.. I heard him sniggering. "A small girl such as yourself shouldn't be in a place like this."<br>"Kisame. Leave the girl, she's not of any priority." Itachi says.  
>"Aw that's no fun.. heh, Samehada likes her chakra." Kisame chuckles.<br>"Setsuki!" Asuma exclaims, taking notice of my presence. Kurenai clenches a fist out of panic but faces Itachi to keep an eye on him.. I could feel my energy disappearing, and I wasn't even doing anything.  
>"Get away from her!" Asuma growls jumping towards Kisame, however Kisame raises his sword and Asuma flips backwards so he doesn't get hit. I close my eyes for a moment.<br>'_Mizu Kawarimi__.._'  
>"Heh heh, we can't let her go and tell anyone, at least let me knock her out Itachi-san." Kisame says.<br>"... Fine." Itachi replies. Kisame sends a punch to the back of my head, however it turns to water just as he hits it, causing my head to disappear into water for a moment. "What's this?"  
>Asuma sighs of relief. "Setsuki! Get away from here now!"<br>Quickly, I reform my head and elbow Kisame's stomach in attempt to make him move but it didn't seem to affect him because he stood there laughing out of pity.  
>"Lets try this again." Kisame says, clenching his fist again. I prepare to do the same thing again when suddenly I see vines reach up from the ground and grab Kisame's feet.<br>"Kurenai.. it's about time.. Setsuki! Go now!" Asuma calls. I nod and jump away while he was distracted.

As I jump I see my hands shaking.. fear? I find a group of trees a fair distance away and hide behind one panting heavily. I felt so weak and drained of energy. I slide down against the tree to my butt and lean my head against it panting. That was probably the second scariest.. third scariest moment of my life. The first being the war at Kikyo pass, however I was young then and can't really remember much.. the second time when those two Sunagakure Jonin tried to kill me.. then just now. I close my eyes trying to calm my breathing down and sit there.  
>Slowly, drifting off...<p>

After a while, I felt two fingers touch my neck for a moment then be removed.  
>"What is it? Is she okay!"<br>"Yes. She has a pulse."  
>"Does she have any injuries!"<br>"I don't think so."  
>"You need to be sure!"<br>"Lee, calm down! Stop getting worked up and just calm down!"  
>"Neji! I do not want to see her hurt like this!"<br>"We'll take her to the hospital then."  
>"Right."<br>I feel an arm slide under my legs and one behind my back. I try to open my eyes but my energy was somehow gone. I was then lifted off the ground and my head rests against someone's chest. I still felt tired and drift off again.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20  
><strong>

I felt myself be lowered onto something soft and it woke me up but I still couldn't move and I couldn't even open my eyes.  
>"Well how is she?"<br>"Seems she's very low on chakra, any more and it could be lethal. Was she training?"  
>"We don't know. Lee spotted her unconscious like this against a tree in the village."<br>"Well give her a few hours and she should be okay."  
>"Alright."<br>I drift off again.

"... I really don't know what to say.. but please wake up Setsuki.." I slowly open my eyes, seeing a blurry silhouette leaning over me. "Setsuki?"  
>I blink a few times to focus my vision. "U-uncle..?"<br>"Yes? Yes? You're awake!" He exclaims. I yawns and try to sit up but I still felt weak. "Just stay down okay? Don' go pushing yourself. You really had me worried there."  
>"What.."<br>"Asuma-san told us what happened." He says. I stare at the ceiling.  
>"So a few hours have gone by.." I mutter to myself<br>"Hours? Setsuki a day has gone by." He says. My eyes widen.  
>"What?"<br>Takashi nods. "Yes, you've had a lot of people worried, particularly the fox." I frown.  
>"His name's Naruto. Please don't call him fox." I grumble.<br>"Yeah well, you know how it is." He says.  
>"... It's still mean uncle." I grumble, glimpsing at him for a moment then stare at the ceiling again.<br>"Also that friend of yours.. what's his name... Rock something." He trails off in thought.  
>"Rock Lee-san?" I inquire.<br>"That's the one! Yes, him and some Hyuuga found you unconscious by a tree. Also Rock Lee has been here since." He mentions. I blink then try and look around the room. "Oh, he's gone now because he had to return to his own room. But he was here most of the night before the nurses found him."  
>"W.. really?" I ask. "What about Naruto-kun?"<br>"Hm.. haven't seen him lately." He says.  
>"Oh.. I wonder where he is.." I say.<br>"Hm. Well the point is you're awake now." He says.  
>"So when can I get out of here?" I ask, facing him.<br>"Tomorrow. They said the day after you wake up, and considering it's noon now they're not going to let you out."  
>"Aw.. what time can I get out tomorrow?" I ask.<br>"Well I'll come to pick you up around lunch time."  
>"Can you get here before they serve lunch? I don't like hospital food." I ask.<br>"Well you're not having ramen. You can have something healthy, how about some broccoli soup?"  
>"Bleh! Ew! No way!" I gush.<br>"Well decide what you want until then okay? No ramen, no ice cream."  
>"Chocolate?" I ask, grinning slightly. He folds his arms and I pout. "Okay okay, I was joking."<br>"Yeah sure. Anyway, I gotta get home and turn the stove off." He says.  
>"You left the stove on?"<br>"Yeah..." He replies scratching his head.  
>"Hmph, if I did that you'd yell at me." I whine, closing my eyes.<br>"Yeah well, my bad. Good night Setsuki." He says, leaning down and giving me a small kiss on my forehead.  
>"Night." I reply, then he leaves. I stare at the ceiling thinking. "He's been here since? … Lee-san.." I smile. "You're a great friend."<p>

A short while later I was sitting up in my bed staring out the window when there was a knock on my door, I look at it. "Come in..?" I call.  
>The door slides open and Sakura walks in. "I see you're awake finally." She giggles, then gives a soft expression.<br>"Hah, hi Sakura-chan." I reply, smiling back at her.  
>"How are you feeling?"<br>"Great!" I exclaim.  
>"Haha, that's why you're in hospital." She says sarcastically. I blink. "Never mind." She laughs.<br>"Oh, Sakura-chan you're on Naruto-kun's squad!" I exclaim.  
>"Why yes I am." She laughs. "Why?"<br>"Have you seen Naruto-kun?" I ask.  
>"Uh, not recently I haven't." She says, giving a thoughtful look.<br>"No one has.. Hey! Maybe Lee-san knows!" I exclaim then swing my legs over the side of the bed.  
>"What? Setsuki what are you doing?" She asks.<br>"Gonna visit Lee-san!" I answer, jumping off the bed. My legs were a little shaky but I try to ignore it.  
>"I really don't think you should be walking around just yet." Sakura says, giving me a concerned look.<br>"Nonsense, I can walk perfectly fine, see?" I say, smiling as I walk past her swaying slightly. I get to the door. "Come on Sakura." I say, opening the door then I look out the door.  
>"Alright alright. Lee-san's room is right there." Sakura says, pointing to the door opposite mine..<br>"Really? How convenient!" I exclaim then walk forward to his door then knock on it.  
>"Come in." Lee calls. I open the door and pop my head in smiling.<br>"Hiya!"  
>"Huh? Oh! Setsuki-san, you are awake! Are you okay?" Lee asks, sitting up straight in his bed.<br>"Yep I'm fine." I reply. Lee beckons me to come in, so I do, and Sakura enters behind me. Lee's expression lit up straight away as he sees Sakura and I found it admirable.  
>"S-Sakura-san!" He stutters over excitement.<br>"Hi Lee-san." Sakura politely says.  
>"What brings you both here?" Lee inquires.<br>"I was wondering if you've seen Naruto-kun anywhere?" I ask. Lee thinks for a moment.  
>"Mm, no I have not. I am sorry." He says.<br>"Oh, it's fine." I say then walk over to the window and look around outside. "Seems like he's gone missing off the face of the earth."  
>"Yeah, it's certainly been quiet without him." Sakura says.<br>"Maybe he's sleeping." I suggest.  
>"Well I should get going, the nurse will be kicking me out sooner or later, but it's great to see you both healthy." Sakura says. I nod. "Well good night, Lee-san, Setsuki-chan."<br>"Ni-"  
>"Good night Sakura-san!" Lee exclaims.<br>".. Heh, night." I laugh.  
>"Night." Sakura says smiling then walks out. There was a moment of silence for a bit. I was about to speak when the door opens again, capturing our attention.<br>A leg being hugged by an orange leg warmer steps in.  
>"Gai-sensei!" We exclaim, immediately recognizing the leg warmer. Gai-sensei walks in with his hands on his hips, looking directly at Lee, not even glimpsing at me once.<br>"How are ya Lee?"  
>"I am very good Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaims, sitting up straighter.<br>"Hm. I knew you would recover quite quickly, however it is unfortunate that you are bound to the hospital for a few more weeks." Gai-sensei says, his finger and thumb holding his chin. Lee looks down for a moment. I notice he was holding a thin rectangle box.  
>"What's that Ga-"<br>"Wah!" Gai-sensei jumps and faces me with wide eyes. "S-Setsuki! How long have you been standing there?"  
>"Uh... since you walked in..?" I reply. Gai-sensei exhales deeply, holding a hand to his chest.<br>"Did.. did she scare you Gai-sensei?" Lee asks with a slight chuckle. Gai-sensei stands up straight and clears his throat.  
>"Of course not! No one can scare me! I'm Maito Gai after all!" Gai-sensei exclaims. I sweatdrop.<br>"Yep... So um, what's that?" I ask, pointing to the box in his hand.  
>"Hm? Oh this?" Gai-sensei inquires, holding it out in front of us. "Shogi."<br>"Shogi?" I ask.  
>"That's right!"<br>"What is it for Gai-sensei?" Lee asks, having the same curious expression as me.  
>"Well, I did bring it for Lee, but considering you are here Setsuki I'm sure this will have it's effect on you as well!" Gai-sensei exclaims, giving me the thumbs up.<br>"Effect?" I ask, tilting my head to the side. Gai-sensei closes his eyes and grins then holds it up into the air like it's pure gold.  
>"Training of course!" Gai-sensei exclaims, grinning wider. Both Lee and I remain silent in our confusion. Gai-sensei keeps his pose until he realizes there's no reaction and lowers the box and gets a poker face.<br>"I do not understand Gai-sensei. How is Shogi training?" Lee inquires. Gai-sensei gets a slight smirk and pokes his own head a few times.  
>"Not only do you need physical training, but you also need logical training to become a great ninja!" Gai-sensei exclaims.<br>"Ooooh! I see Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaims, getting two fists of passion and becoming full of interest. I then remember something Komaru-sensei said..

"_If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared. That means, for example, if Setsuki's weak point is her brain, she should study and prepare for her missions."_

I frown. "Something wrong Setsuki? You don't look too excited about this." Gai-sensei says.  
>"Huh? No no I'm fine!" I exclaim, smiling.<br>"Very well! I want your youthful minds to become much more intelligent by tomorrow, got it?" Gai-sensei says. We both quickly salute him.  
>"Yes Gai-sensei!" We respond in unison.<p>

He sits down and teaches us to play, then shortly afterwards a nurse found him and kicked him out, and of course, dragged me back to my room. However, later on, I snuck back into Lee's room and we continue our game of Shogi which ended up in a draw every time. We both eventually fell asleep leaning on the table.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21  
><strong>

"Setsuki.. Setsuki wake up... SETSUKI!"  
>My eyes snap open and I jump almost 10 feet in the air and cling to the curtain with wide eyes. Two sets of laughter filled the room.<br>"That is not nice!" I hear Lee's voice. I blink and notice Lee in his hospital bed, Daisuke and Susumu standing beside it laughing.  
>"Hey! Hey look! Her boyfriend's already sticking up for her!" Susumu laughs. I frown and let go of the curtain. Lee's slight glare turns into a straight face and his cheeks turn slightly pink.<br>"B-boyfriend? N-no, I am afraid you are mistaken.." Lee says, scratching his cheek.  
>"Susumu! Daisuke!" I wail. "What are you doing here?"<br>"We came to visit our teammate, we heard what happened." Daisuke says.  
>"Yeah! You were up against Hoshigaki Kisame!" Susumu exclaims.<br>"And the legendary Uchiha Itachi!" Daisuke adds in.  
>"No not really.. I was just standing there.." I say, rubbing my arm.<br>"But Asuma-sensei told us you actually fought back!" Daisuke says.  
>"It was self defense! I didn't want to fight someone in their league! I'm no match!" I exclaim.<br>"Heh, you're right." Susumu scoffs. I frown again.  
>"No! Her bravery is something to be awed upon!" Daisuke exclaims. I blink.<br>"Ohh yeah? You're still in love with Setsuki hm?" Susumu asks, getting a slight smirk.  
>"Of course not! I'm way over her!" Daisuke gushes. I fold my arms.<br>"Sure~" Susumu drawls.  
>"Shut it!" Daisuke growls. Susumu's smirk grows and he puts his hands in his pockets.<br>"What'cha gonna do about it?" Susumu inquires, getting his cocky expression.  
>"I'll pound you're ass!" Daisuke exclaims, then goes to punch him. I lower my head in embarrassment as Susumu counterattacks, kicking Daisuke through the door.<br>"Guys.." I grumble.  
>"Hey! That hurt you bastard!" Daisuke shouts.<br>"Yeah? Want another go?" Susumu questions.  
>"Guys." I say a little louder. Daisuke stands up and runs back in the room and tackles Susumu and they begin a small fist fight.<br>"I'm gonna rip your fucking head off!" Daisuke shouts.  
>"Yeah? Do it!" Susumu shouts back.<br>"GUYS!" I shout as loud as I could, capturing their attention, they both look at me, frozen like statues. "Sheesh! This is a hospital." I mention. Daisuke lands his punch across Susumu's face quickly without moving any muscle except for his arm. Susumu growls. I lower my head more. I don't even want to see Lee's face at the moment. Then something came across my mind. "Hey, where's Komaru-sensei?" I ask, raising my head again. They both stand up and brush themselves off.  
>"Dunno." Daisuke replies.<br>"I think he's sick." Susumu says.  
>"Sick? That's unlike Komaru-sensei.." I mention.<br>"Everyone gets sick sometimes Setsuki." Susumu grumbles.  
>"Not me!" I exclaim, giving him a thumbs up. He sweatdrops.<br>"What's with that look?" Daisuke asks.  
>"Huh?" I look at their weirded out expressions, then look at Lee who was smiling.<br>"Doesn't Maito Gai do that pose?" Susumu asks.  
>"Yeah... it must be contagious.." Daisuke mutters. Then they both shiver.<br>"I'm not going near that freak then." Susumu says.  
>"Me either."<br>They both then blink at us. Both me and Lee are frowning at them. "Gai-sensei is not a freak!" Lee exclaims.  
>"He is a great sensei!" I imply.<br>"Yeah... lets just go." Daisuke says.  
>"No we can't we gotta go meet up with Kurenai-sensei as a squad!" Susumu exclaims.<br>"Kurenai?" I ask. "That sensei that's always around Asuma-sensei?" I ask. They both nod. "Why?"  
>"Because she's training us today." Daisuke says.<br>"Why can't we go be trained by Gai-sensei?" I ask.  
>"Coz he's not here." Susumu says.<br>"What? Where is he?" Lee questions, sitting up straight.  
>"Something about protecting Naruto or something." Daisuke says.<br>"Naruto? Protecting?" I ask. They both shrug. "You know, you two are hopeless. You know nothing."  
>"Psh, speak for yourself." Susumu grumbles. I fold my arms and stick my tongue out childishly.<br>"Anyway! Lets get going!" Daisuke says.  
>"I haven't been released from the hospital yet!" I exclaim. They both stare at me.<br>"So?" Daisuke asks.  
>"Uncle Takashi told me he'd come to get me this morning!" I say.<br>"Well it's morning, where is he?" Daisuke asks, looking around.  
>"I don't know. He's never late for anything except if something happens.." I say, trailing off in concern at the end of my sentence.<br>"Should we go look for him?" Daisuke asks.  
>"Yeah. Setsuki, you stay here." Susumu says.<br>"But I wanna come!" I whine.  
>"Stay here." Susumu growls, then they both run out. I sigh.<br>"Are you alright Setsuki-san?" Lee asks. I face him and nod.  
>"Yes, I'm okay. They'll find him." I reply. Lee nods.<br>"I wonder what they meant by protecting Naruto-kun." Lee ays.  
>"Hn.. wait! That means Gai-sensei would know where Naruto-kun is!" I mention.<br>"You are right!" Lee says. I sit down in the seat where I fell asleep and look at the Shogi board.  
>"Who won?" I ask, not remembering. Lee scratches his head for a minute thinking.<br>"Erm.. I do not know.." Lee replies.  
>"What do we report to Gai-sensei then?" I ask. Lee blinks.<br>"... We must finish the game!" Lee exclaims.  
>"Yes! T-"<br>"I move my Rook here! It takes out your king!" Lee exclaims, moving his Rook to defeat my king. I was speechless. "That means I win!" Lee exclaims then gets anime tears. "Gai-sensei will be so proud!"  
>"I challenge you to a rematch Lee!" I exclaim, pointing to him with determination. Lee blinks out of his victorious moment and grins at me, getting fire in his eyes.<br>"Challenge accepted!"

I sat there staring at the board, Lee had a drop of sweat fall down his cheek as he stares at the board under pressure. It was dead silent.  
>Lee's arm finally raises above the table ready to move a piece, however it was extremely hesitant. I had the perfect strategy planned in my head. I will win next turn, for sure. His shaky arm lowers and he lifts up his Bishop and moves it three squares diagonal, taking out my King. I blink.<br>"I did it! I won again!" Lee exclaims, getting anime tears again. If not for his injuries, I could picture him getting up and parading around. I lower my head in defeat. "Gai-sensei will be super proud now! I won two times in a row Setsuki-san! Two!"  
>"Yes! I know!" I whine. He blinks and settles down.<br>"Eh heh.. you will win next time for sure, Setsuki-san! You just need to believe in the power of youth and you will win!" He exclaims, giving me the thumbs up and the smile, his teeth even sparkle.  
>"I see.." I respond, then lower my head for a second in thought, then lift my head up with fire in my eyes. "Then I will believe in the power of youth!"<br>Our youthful moment was ruined by a pair of growling stomachs.. our stomachs. We both laugh and I look at the clock, noticing it's almost 1pm. "We did not get any breakfast!" Lee exclaims, annoyed.  
>"No wonder I'm so hungry.." I whine, rubbing my stomach.<br>"Wait, what about your uncle? He was supposed to be here this morning right?" Lee mentions. I blink.  
>"You're right! … Maybe he forgot about me.." I whine.<br>"I do not think your uncle would forget you Setsuki-san." Lee says in a soft tone.  
>"... He has before.." I mumble.<br>".. Really?"  
>I nod and begin telling him about that day.<p>

[Flashback]

"Setsuki, I'll go to the shops, and I'll meet you at this bench in one hour, okay? Make sure you don't move from this spot, I don't want you getting lost." Takashi says.  
>My 7 year old self sits there on the bench grinning at him. "I promise I wont move!"<br>Takashi smiles. "That's a good girl." He says, then ruffles my hair, ruining my two pigtails. I smile at him, then he walks down the street, presumably to the shops which I didn't want to go to. People in big fruit costumes scare me..

An hour had passed and I was laying across the bench with my arms behind my head staring at the sky. '_He'll be here any minute now..._'  
>I turn my head to the side to look for him.. no sign of him. I look back up at the sky, an orange glow could be seen in the distance.. as well as some dark clouds. I smile to myself. I love rain... but on the contrary, I hate storms. I sit up straight and look around again, a little frantically this time. I don't want to be stuck in a storm, especially not now because I don't know the way back to our house.<p>

As another hour passed, the clouds rolled over more, though blue sky could still be seen. I didn't like this one bit.  
>"Uncle Takashi..!" I call, hoping for a response... nothing. I was beginning to get restless. "UNCLE TAKASHIIII?"<p>

Another hour and I was panicking, what if it started to storm? I'd be trapped in it.. just the thought made me upset. I was scared now.  
>"Takashi..." I whine, looking around, the sky was a lot darker now, and the clouds were overhead now.. and it was colder. I curl up, hugging my knees. Then I felt something touch my bare arm. I look seeing a small bit of water.. I look up, it began to spit a few more drops here and there for a while before it became really heavy. I was getting drenched.. and really really cold. So cold in fact, I was shivering and could hear my own teeth chattering.<br>I bury my head in my arms to prevent my face getting wet.  
>"Setsuki? SETSUKI?"<br>I look up straight away seeing Uncle Takashi running around frantically. "Uncle Takashi!" I shout. He looks in my direction then runs over.  
>"Oh thank goodness!" He exclaims, then picks me up, holding me in his arms, he was drenched too. "Come on, lets get out of this rain before we get sick." He says then starts running home.<p>

I was sick for a week afterwards.

[End Flashback]

"... That's pretty much it.."  
>".. Wow... I would never imagine forgetting their own family.. and you were scared of people in fruit costumes?" Lee asks.<br>"Don't judge me!" I whine.  
>"I-I never intended such a thing!" Lee exclaims, waving his hands innocently. I pout, not really believing him. "I am sorry! I did not mean to make you upset-"<br>"It's okay." I say, smiling slightly. The moment he said sorry made me happy.  
>By now voices could be heard outside. I decide to listen.<br>"Oh my! Come this way quickly!"  
>"Right!" I blink, that voice.. I face Lee, he had heard it too.<br>"Gai-sensei?" We both ask in unison. I walk to the door and peep out, seeing a nurse run past, followed by Gai-sensei carrying someone. I watch them for a second before they turn the corner at the end of the corridor.  
>"What is it?" Lee asks.<br>"I dunno, Gai-sensei has someone injured on his back." I answer, still staring at the corner.  
>"Who was it?"<br>"I don't know. I couldn't see their face." I reply.  
>"Oh."<br>"... Wait a minute.."  
>"What's wrong?"<br>"Gai-sensei's back!" I exclaim, facing Lee.  
>".. Yes, I noticed." Lee replies.<p>

[Meanwhile]

"Hey look! There's Kurenai-sensei!" Daisuke exclaims, pointing to her.  
>"Oh yeah! Lets go!" Susumu says. They nod and run towards Kurenai and her squad.<br>"Ah, you two are fairly late." Kurenai mentions toward the duo.  
>"Eh heh.. sorry." Daisuke says, scratching the back of his head.<br>"Psh, and you complain when I'm late! This is what I call late!" Kiba exclaims.  
>"Do you wanna fight?" Daisuke growls.<br>"Heh, you wouldn't stand a chance!" Kiba scoffs.  
>"Oh yeah!" Daisuke raises his voice.<br>"U-uh.. K-Kiba-kun.." Hinata stutters, wanting to calm her teammate down.  
>"What's up Hinata? We can take 'em!" Kiba says overconfidently.<br>"Um.. n-no I don't want t-to fight.." Hinata shyly says.  
>"Huh? I wasn't talking about you Hinata, I meant Akamaru! Right pal?" Kiba says. Akamaru barks in agreement. Hinata sweatdrops.<br>"No. You two need to calm down. If you don't get along I wont train you. Any of you." Kurenai says.  
>"Alright! We'll get along!" Daisuke exclaims. Kiba grumbles something incoherent.<br>"Good." Kurenai says. Daisuke faces Susumu.  
>"Hey, what's up spacey head?" Daisuke inquires, poking Susumu's head.<br>"Huh?"  
>"Haha, you really were zoned out eh?" Daisuke sniggers.<br>"No, it's just.. something's bothering me." Susumu says.  
>"Like what?" Kurenai asks.<br>"I feel like we've forgotten to do something.." Susumu says.  
>"... Now that you mention it.." Daisuke says, beginning to think.<br>"I don't know why, but I think it's something important.." Susumu mentions.  
>"Hm, come to think of it, aren't there three of you?" Kurenai inquires. Both their eyes widen.<br>"We totally forgot about Setsuki!" Both Daisuke and Susumu exclaim.

[Back at the Hospital]

I was sitting at the table, playing a third game of Shogi with Lee.  
>"Power of youth.. power of youth.." I mutter repeatedly, staring at my three pieces left on the board. Lee had absolutely taken control of this game, it was like he planned this strategy way before we began playing. I knew I was going to lose. But I didn't want to. "Power of youth... power of youth.."<br>Lee stares at the board, at my three pieces, determining which one I will move.  
>'<em>Wait.. if I move my Bishop there and take out his Pawn... I could then move my Lance and defeat his King!<em>' I smile at my little ingenious plan. I pick up my Bishop, moving it to take out his Pawn.  
>"Hm. Good move Setsuki-san." Lee comments.<br>"Thanks." I reply. '_Now just to take out his King, then I've won!_' I was getting excited now.  
>"Now, I will move my Knight here, I can take out your Lance." Lee says, doing as he says. I anime fall.<br>"No! No! I had a plan! Nooo.." I whine, laying on the floor. Lee blinks.  
>"Um... Setsuki-san.. you still have your King, so it is your turn.." He mentions. I quickly sit down in my seat again and take a deep breath and look over my two pieces.<br>'_So I have my King, and my Bishop... maybe if I use the Bishop to... um... man this is impossible!_' "Gah!" I complain.  
>"Huh? Are you alright?"<br>"You've won again!" I exclaim.  
>"No. It is your move still, you can still win." He says.<br>"How?" I ask, stating that I have no strategy.  
>"With the power of youth!" Lee exclaims with a fist.<br>"... Lee-san the power of youth isn't working for me!" I whine, getting anime tears.  
>"Do not be silly Setsuki-san! Of course it will! You just need to believe!" He exclaims.<br>"I will believe!" I exclaim, getting a fist.  
>"Believe what?" Gai-sensei asks, entering the room.<br>"Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaims. "I was just telling Setsuki-san about the power of youth!"  
>"Ah, excellent!" Gai-sensei says. "I see you have both been playing Shogi. Who has won?"<br>"Lee did.." I admit.  
>"Well this is our third game. Setsuki-san might win this time." Lee says. I move my Bishop across so that next move I could take his King out.. as long as he doesn't move it. I did this when Lee wasn't looking hoping he wouldn't pick up on it.<br>"Your turn Lee-san." I say, getting his attention. He looks at the board for a moment, Gai-sensei walks over with his hands on his hips watching. I get an overconfident smirk.  
>"I see! You moved your Bishop to protect your King! That was a clever move Setsuki-san." Lee says. I was speechless.<br>"How observant of you Lee!" Gai-sensei says. Lee gets an over-happy expression.  
>"Thank you Gai-sensei!" Lee says then faces the board again. He picks up his Knight and moves it to take out my Bishop, leaving my King wide open..<br>"Aww..." I whine.  
>"Hm hm." Gai-sensei chuckles in his throat.<br>I pointlessly move my King, and Lee takes it out on his next turn.  
>"So you've won three times in a row?" Gai-sensei asks.<br>"Yes! Yes I did Gai-sensei!" Lee answers excitedly. Gai closes his eyes for a moment, scratching his chin in thought, then gives Lee the thumbs up and shining smile.  
>"That's my youthful student, Lee! You're so clever, you make me so proud!" Gai-sensei exclaims. Lee gets anime tears.<br>"Thank you Gai-sensei!"  
>"Lee!"<br>"Gai-sensei!"  
>"Lee!"<br>"Gai-sensei!"  
>"AHEM!" We all face the door seeing a nurse standing with a tray of food. Me and Lee practically drooled at the sight. She began tapping her foot giving Gai-sensei a slight glare.<br>"Oh, uh please excuse us Madam." Gai-sensei says, giving her a respectful bow.  
>"Would you stop being so loud! This is a hospital! Not a game of baseball where you can shout as loud as you want! Other patients are trying to sleep!" She gushes. Gai-sensei falls to his hands and knees in a full bow.<br>"My apologies!" Gai-sensei cries. "I promise it will not happen again!"  
>"Hmph. Good." She snarls, then stops over to the table, stomping her feet so her heels could be heard a mile away. "What is this?" She questions, looking at the Shogi board occupying the entire space on the table.<br>"Sh-shogi ma'am.." I croak, becoming scared of her. She gives me a fierce look.  
>"What are you doing out of your room?" She harshly inquires.<br>"I-I uh wanted to come visit my friend..?" I answer. She huffs and slams the tray down on the table, making us all jump and the Shogi pieces fly everywhere.  
>"That is not an acceptable answer! There is no reason for you to leave your room AT ALL!" She snaps at me. By now I was shaking in fear.<br>"U-um, ma'am.." Lee begins, building up courage to speak. The nurse immediately turns to Lee, pointing at him.  
>"Don't you start young man! You are in no condition to do anything but lay there and get better! Got it?" She gushes. Lee looks down.<br>"Yes..." He mumbles.  
>"Good! Now! YOU! Return to your room this instant!" She literally screams at me. I scurry out of the room and into my room and jump in my bed and hide under the blankets. I could still hear her screams in Lee's room and after her fit of anger, she leaves the room. It was then quiet.. except for my stomach.<p>

Five minutes later there was a knock on my door, but I was still hiding under my blankets.  
>"C-Come in.." I call. The door slides open and I swear I heard more than three pairs of feet walk in. What kind of crowd wants to annoy me now?<p> 


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22  
><strong>

"Setsuki..?" I hear Takashi's voice. I poke my head out of the blanket, seeing Uncle Takashi, Susumu, Daisuke, Gai-sensei and Tenten. I blink a few times.  
>"What is this? A party or something?" I ask. Takashi laughs and shakes his head.<br>"No, turns out we all wanted to visit our favorite teammate." Daisuke says. Susumu smirks to himself.  
>"Baka!" Tenten gushes, then hits Daisuke over the back of his head. This made me smile.<br>"Ow.." Daisuke groans.  
>"It turns out these two forgot to tell your uncle, who also forgot you, to come and pick you up, and I was on my way here to visit Lee when I ran into Gai-sensei and he wanted to see you as well." Tenten explains. I frown at Takashi.<br>"You forgot me again." I whine.  
>"Oh I know.. I'm sorry." Takashi says. "But you know, I got carried away cooking."<br>"... Cooking what?" I ask.  
>"Food." Takashi replies. I facepalm. I hate it when he does that. "I can't believe you're still in bed though, it's almost 2 o'clock! I thought you would have been up by now."<br>I frown more. "It's the nurse's fault." I say.  
>"Yeah well, are you ready to go home?"<br>"Yes!" I say.  
>"You're not going home." Susumu says. I blink. "We have training to do."<br>"Oh! I forgot about that!" I say.  
>"We told you this morning.." Susumu mentions.<br>"I still forgot.." I say.  
>"Training hm?" Gai-sensei asks. I then got an idea.<br>"GAI-SENSEI I WANT TO TRAIN WITH YOU!" I shout excitedly, making everyone but Gai-sensei cringe.  
>Gai-sensei grins. "You have determination Setsuki! Such a youthful spirit, it makes me so happy!"<br>"... Freak.." Takashi mutters quietly, leaning away from Gai-sensei. Gai-sensei faces Takashi with a poker face.  
>"Well, you can't Setsuki, we're training with Kurenai-sensei's squad." Susumu says.<br>"I don't want to! I want to train with Gai-sensei!" I exclaim, even pointing at Gai-sensei.  
>"Yes! Can she Gai-sensei?" Tenten asks. Gai-sensei gets a thoughtful look.<br>"Pleeaaaseee?" Both me and Setsuki plead together in the exact same tone. Gai-sensei then gives us the nice guy pose.  
>"Of course you can Setsuki!" Gai-sensei says. I happily jump out of bed. "But.." I freeze in my tracks. "You must eat first, I could hear your stomach from Lee's room."<br>I laugh nervously. "Who's up for some Ichiraku ramen?" I ask.  
>"ME!" Both Daisuke and Tenten answer, then look at each other awkwardly.<br>"I'd rather sushi." Susumu says.  
>"Hm. No ramen." Gai-sensei says. I blink sadly. "You must become healthy!"<br>"But I am healthy!" I exclaim. Takashi chuckles.  
>"Setsuki we had this argument the other day." Takashi mentions.<br>"... Fine I'll have an apple or something!" I say. Gai-sensei shakes his head. "What? That's healthy!"  
>"Yes. It is. However you'll need something with more nutrition than just an apple." Gai-sensei says.<br>"... Two apples?" I ask. Tenten giggles.  
>"Hm. No. I was thinking more.." Gai-sensei trails off in thought.<br>"Don't say curry..." Tenten mumbles very quietly. Gai-sensei clicks his fingers.  
>"We'll have curry!" Gai-sensei exclaims.<br>"I'll make it!" I exclaim. "I make it at work!"  
>"Very well! Setsuki will make us curry, and we'll eat it then train!" Gai-sensei says.<br>"Yosh!" I reply.  
>"No!" Uncle Takashi retorts. We all face him.<br>"What?" I ask.  
>"I just said, I spent all this time cooking, and you want to go off with this freak, and eat curry?" He complains. I point at him.<br>"You're the one who forgot about me!" I exclaim.  
>"Yea-..." He didn't appear to have a comeback. I fold my arms victoriously.<br>Daisuke shrugs. "She has a point." He says to Takashi. Takashi sighs.  
>"I'm sorr-"<br>"Forgot about Setsuki? How could you do such a thing..!" Gai-sensei questions.  
>"I'M SORRY!" Takashi shouts. I walk up to Takashi and stand up on my toes and pat him on the head.<br>"It's okay." I say, smiling. "Now! Curry time!" I exclaim.  
>"Yay..." Tenten grumbles.<br>"Now hold on a minute, I have to sign you out of the hospital first." Takashi says.  
>"Well lets go!" I exclaim, grabbing his wrist, then dragging him out the door. Everyone else just follows along.<p>

After un-signing me from the hospital, we head to my house for lunch, and when I walked inside, I realized Uncle Takashi wasn't joking about cooking all day.. it was like a buffet.  
>"Hm, what is this?" Gai-sensei asks.<br>"Food." Takashi answers.  
>"... What kind of food?" Susumu asks.<br>"I don't care what it is! It looks delicious!" Daisuke exclaims, then sits down at the table and begins stuffing his face.  
>"... I like that kid." Takashi says.<br>".. I don't." Susumu replies. Takashi and Susumu stare at each other. My stomach growls louder.  
>"Whatever! I'm hungry!" I exclaim, then sit down beside Daisuke, stuffing my face too.<br>"What about the curry?" Gai-sensei whines.  
>"Ugh, come on." Tenten groans, grabbing Gai-sensei's arm and pulling him to the table. Everyone sits down and enjoys the feast.. Except for Gai-sensei.<p>

It was silent after everyone finished, and everyone looked stuffed. When suddenly Gai-sensei stood up, slamming his hands on the table and facing us al, making us jump.  
>"Yosh! Who's ready to train!" He inquires in a loud, enthusiastic voice.<br>"ME!" I exclaim, jumping right up. Daisuke, Susumu and Tenten just grumble.  
>"Right! Lets go!" Gai-sensei says loudly, then marches towards the door. "Thanks for the food!" He calls back, opening the door.<br>"Yep, thanks Uncle!" I call, running straight out the door.  
>"Ugh.. you're all going to get stomach cramps.." Takashi grumbles.<p>

Tenten, Daisuke and Susumu eventually follow.  
>We get to the training grounds where Neji was already sitting on a log. "Neji, you're here!" Tenten calls.<br>"Hn.." Neji responds.  
>"Haha! He looks more like a girl close up." Daisuke teases. Neji closes his eyes with an anime vein.<br>"Baka!" I gush, then hit Daisuke over the back of the head.  
>"Ow!" He whines, rubbing the back of his head.<br>"That's not nice!" I exclaim.  
>"It's true..." He mutters. I raise my hand to threaten to hit him again, and he flinches, making me laugh.<br>"Why are we here? We're supposed to be with Kurenai-sensei." Susumu mentions.  
>"She's probably forgotten about us by now." Daisuke says.<br>"True. We did say we'd be five minutes... we've probably been an hour.." Susumu says.  
>"Should we go search for her?" Daisuke asks.<br>"... Yes!" I exclaim, pushing the duo away.  
>"What're you doing?" Susumu asks.<br>"You two go along and look for Kurenai-sensei, I'm training with Gai-sensei." I answer, continuing to push them away.  
>"Sheesh, stop pushing!" Susumu grumbles and begins walking on his own.<br>"Nooo, I wanna train with you~" Daisuke chirps, latching onto my arm. I blink.  
>"Please let go of me.." I say, looking at him. He gives me those dreadful puppy eyes, and I couldn't resist them. "Okaay, you can stay here Daisuke." I say, smiling. He smiles back.<br>"Yay! Off you go Susumu!" Daisuke chirps, shooing him with his hand.  
>"Why can't I stay!" Susumu inquires.<br>"Because you're mean." I say.  
>"Yeah~ And you're the one that wanted to train with Kurenai-sensei." Daisuke mentions. Susumu puts his hands on his hips.<br>"I don't want to be a loner!" Susumu complains. Daisuke began rubbing my arm while hugging it, which really freaked me out.  
>"Too bad buddy. I've got Setsuki, I'm happy." Daisuke says.<br>".. Fine! I'll stay!" Susumu says.  
>"No! Susumu! You have to go!" I say.<br>"Why!"  
>"Because... Because... um... I don't know.." I answer. He sweatdrops.<br>"You don't like me?" Susumu asks.  
>"Of course I do! … just not all the time." I admit. He folds his arms.<br>"Fine fine, be that way." Susumu grumbles.  
>"But you like me, right?" Daisuke asks, putting his face right in front of mine, with those cursed puppy eyes.<br>"Aww, of course I do!" I exclaim, ruffling his hair. He chuckles.  
>"Psh, lovebirds." Susumu grumbles.<br>"... You know what? Yeah, I do like Setsuki! So nerrr." Daisuke says, poking his tongue out at Susumu.  
>"When you three are finished bickering.." Gai-sensei interrupts. We face him, and I just wished that Daisuke would stop hugging my arm..<br>Tenten walks over and stands beside me.  
>"What are we doing today Gai-sensei?" I ask.<br>"Well, I was thinking..." Gai-sensei says, trailing off, scratching his chin in thought. We wait for a moment before he finally answers, giving us the thumbs up. "We're going to train your biceps! Everyone now! 1,000 squats!" He exclaims, beginning to to them.  
>"1,000?" Daisuke and Susumu question. Neji sighs and begins doing them, Tenten grumbles and starts, then as for me, I was very enthusiastic about doing them, I begin excitedly.<br>"This is ridiculous." Susumu grumbles.  
>"Come on mate, I'll beat you!" Daisuke exclaims, then begins. Susumu began too, but after his third squad he was panting heavily. "Is that.. all you got..?"Daisuke asks, panting himself.<br>"These... are... impo..ssible..." Susumu breathes, then falls over. I blink.  
>"Yeah.. very hard.." Daisuke says on about his 11th squat.<br>"You guys are wusses." I say. Daisuke faces me, struggling on his 12th.  
>"20. 21. 22." Gai-sensei counts.<br>"15.. 16..17.." I count.  
>"18... 19... 20..." Tenten counts, gradually getting slower. Neji was counting in his head, and I admit, he did look rather funny doing them.<p>

"998. 999. 1,000!" Gai-sensei exclaims then jumps up into a standing position. Neji stood up straight a while after, Tenten, Daisuke and Susumu were laying on the ground, panting heavily, and I was still going... very slowly.  
>"709... 710..." I count, my panting was also heavy. Gai-sensei watches me.. it was making me feel pressured, so I push through my fatigue and go a bit faster. "711... 712... 713.."<br>"Don't push yourself too far Setsuki." Gai-sensei says.  
>"But.. you told.. us.. to do.. our best.. and.. you set.. a task.. so I.. must complete.. it.." I pant.<br>"You have good determination.." Gai-sensei says, trailing off in thought again, he then chuckles.  
>I close my eyes. "After all.. I.. just have.. to.. believe.. in.. the power.. of.. youth..!" I pant. Gai-sensei's grin widens.<br>"Now that is what I call a youthful spirit! Setsuki you impress me!" Gai-sensei says.  
>"Kuh.. Gai-sensei.. do I ever impress you?" Tenten asks.<br>"Of course you do Tenten!" Gai-sensei exclaims, giving her a thumbs up. "You're my favorite feminine student! A fine youthful kunoichi!"  
>".. But..?" Tenten asks.<br>".. However, Setsuki has more spirit than you, Tenten. Now don't get me wrong, you are, in fact, very talented." Gai-sensei says.  
>"I agree! I.. could never.. handle that.. many.. weapons.. at.. once.. like you do.. Tenten-chan..!" I exclaim.<br>"Heh.. thanks." Tenten says.  
>"Oh! Gai..-sensei!" I exclaim.<br>"Hm?"  
>"You went.. to.. find.. Naruto..-kun.. right?" I ask. '<em>730... 731...'<br>_"Correct!" Gai-sensei says.  
>"Where.. is he..?" I ask.<br>"He's in the lodging town, close to Konohagakure." Gai-sensei says.  
>"Why..?"<br>"Don't you know? Naruto and Jiraiya-sama have set off to bring back our next Hokage." Gai-sensei explains.  
>"Next.. Hokage?" I ask. "Who's.. the next.. Hokage?"<br>"Why, none other than the legendary Tsunade-sama!"  
>"Tsunade?" Tenten questions, abruptly sitting up full of interest.<br>"Hm." Gai-sensei replies with a nod. "Yes Tenten, the very woman you aspired to be."  
>"And she's gonna be the Hokage!" Tenten questions, full of excitement. Gai-sensei nods.<br>"Yes.. I just said that."  
>"Aww.. Naruto..-kun.. is so.. lucky.. to go.. and.. do something.. like.. that.." I pant, feeling like my muscles would give out at any second.<br>"Setsuki. You can stop now." Gai-sensei says.  
>"I-I'm.. almost.. at.. 800... I must.. make it.. to 800.." I retort, taking heavier breaths. "787... 788... 789..." I stop in the crouching position to catch my breath a bit.<br>"Setsuki.. don't push yoursel-"  
>"790!" I exclaim over the top of Tenten. "791... 792... 793..." I stop again to catch my breath. Gai-sensei became slightly concerned.<br>"Setsuki, you don't have to do 800. You should stop before you pass out." Gai-sensei says. I shake my head stubbornly.  
>"79..4... 795!... 796..." I pant. '<em>Just.. four more..<em>' I was struggling now. I use all my might to push myself up again. "797..." I plop back down, almost out of breath. I try again, but my body resisted, and my legs gave in, making me fall on my butt.  
>"You did very good Setsuki!" Gai-sensei exclaims. I weakly raise my hand to give him a thumbs up, but it only lasted 2 seconds before I could no longer move a muscle and fall over on my back.<br>"Daisuke, you know the drill. Water." Susumu says.  
>"I <em>always<em> get her water!" Daisuke complains.  
>"Heh.. poor sweetheart Setsuki, no one will get her water." Susumu scoffs.<br>"... Bastard." Daisuke grumbles then stands up.  
>"Thanks.." I croak. Daisuke looks at me. "Love you.." I sarcastically say.. but he took it literally.<br>"I knew it! I'm going to get you the cleanest, most coldest water I can find!" Daisuke exclaims then runs off with anime tears. Gai-sensei gets anime tears too.  
>"Young love! It's such a youthful phase! It fills me with a warm sensation!" Gai-sensei exclaims.<br>"Ew! Gai-sensei! That's disgusting!" Tenten gushes, Neji was giving him a disturbed glare. I had no idea what their problem was.

Minutes later Daisuke came running back with a big silver canteen, it looks like it's made of metal rather than plastic. I still couldn't move a muscle, but after having some water, my body will surely bounce back.  
>"Here Setsuki!" Daisuke exclaims then kneels down to me. I open my mouth wide, and he blinks. I stare at him. "Oohhh you want me to pour it in?" He asks. I nod with my mouth still open. "Heh, I can do that." He says, and begins unscrewing the lid.. slowly.<br>"Haha, with a mouth that wide, you'd hope a fly doesn't wonder in there." Susumu chuckles. I close my mouth to pout.  
>"Gosh, I've never met two assholes like you two before." Tenten says toward the duo. Both Daisuke and Susumu frown at her. "Gimme that!" Tenten gushes, snatching the canteen from Daisuke and immediately unscrews the lid and pours the water in my mouth too fast, making me choke.. But she didn't stop pouring it and kept yelling at my teammates, oblivious to me. I swallow some of the water, and it was enough to bring back some strength and I wave my arm around between her and Daisuke, getting their attention.<br>"Oh! Sorry Setsuki!" Tenten says, then stops pouring the never-ending water. I sit up coughing.  
>"Heh, and you call us bad." Susumu scoffs.<br>"Shut up!" Tenten gushes, glaring at him.  
>"It's clear why you don't have a girlfriend Susumu. Clearly the ladies hate you." Daisuke chuckles.<br>"Me? What about you? You little reject!" Susumu smugly says.  
>"Reject? Oh I'll give <em>you <em>reject!" Daisuke shouts, standing up. They go to attack each other when Gai-sensei appears between them, grabbing the back of their shirt collars and hoisting them up off the ground, but they were oblivious and kept trying to run at each other.  
>"That's enough." Gai-sensei says, whacking their heads together.<br>"Owww!" They whine. Me and Tenten giggle. Gai-sensei drops them, and they both land on their butts.  
>"Fighting is not very youthful at all! It's the worst thing you could do, especially amongst teammates!" Gai-sensei scolds.<br>"Um, they wont listen Gai-sensei.." I mention. Gai-sensei looks at me. "Komaru-sensei tells them all the time but.. they never stop.."  
>"Oh, don't worry Setsuki. I <em>will <em>make them stop." Gai-sensei says in his assuring tone.  
>"Um, if I may, Gai-sensei.. you still haven't managed to stop Lee and Neji's fighting.." Tenten mentions. Neji was zoned out at this point and didn't hear a word she said. Gai-sensei sweatdrops.<br>"Er.. yes well.. it.. it takes time, Tenten!" Gai-sensei says.  
>"Yeah yeah.." Tenten sighs, rolling her eyes.<br>"Oh yes! There was something I was going to do... now what was it..?" Gai-sensei says, scratching his chin in deep thought.  
>"AAAACHOO!"<br>We all jump and look around frantically for the cause of the noise.  
>"Komaru-sensei?" Susumu asks, seeing a pale-skinned Jonin making his way over to us.<br>"Goodness Komaru-san! You don't look well at all!" Gai-sensei says.  
>"Komaru-sensei!" I question. Komaru-sensei finally approaches us, his skin was just glowing white, he has heavy bags under his eyes and his nose is red.<br>"Evening.." Komaru-sensei says in a croaky voice then sniffles.  
>"What the hell happened to you?" Daisuke questions.<br>"It's a... a.." Komaru-sensei begins.  
>"A what?" Daisuke asks.<br>"A... aa~.. ACHHOOO!" Komaru-sensei sneezes loudly, then blows his nose in his hankie. "A bug."  
>"A bug? Ehh! A bug caused <em>this<em>?" I question, freaking out. Komaru-sensei sighs and rolls his eyes.  
>"No Setsuki." Komaru-sensei groans. "It's just a.. a sickness. Bug is another term for it.."<br>"Ohhh." I reply.  
>"What kind of bug is that?" Gai-sensei asks.<br>"I don't know. But it's nasty." Komaru-sensei replies. "Oh yeah, and I heard about Jiraiya-sama."  
>"Hm. Yes, he's gone to find Tsunade-sama so we have a Hokage."<br>"Great. Maybe she can fix this illness." Komaru-sensei says. Gai-sensei gets a more serious face as he nods.  
>"Yes. And I only hope she can help Lee." Gai-sensei says.<br>"Yeah, real shame. I'm sorry about his Gai-san." Komaru-sensei says.  
>"He'll get better. I just know it." Gai-sensei says, staring into space. Komaru-sensei coughs, I could hear the phlegm too, it was gross. "We cannot daunt on the past! We must be optimistic right now!"<br>"Yes!" I concur. Komaru-sensei coughs again.  
>"I'll concur to that." Komaru-sensei coughs.<br>"You should lay down Komaru-sensei." Susumu says.  
>"Yeah, I mean, you look like a ghost or something." Daisuke says. I blink out of fear.<br>"G-GHOST?" I question then cling to Gai-sensei, shaking as I frantically look around.  
>"Uh...?"<br>Komaru-sensei sighs. "Let go of him Setsuki." He grumbles. I reluctantly let go of Gai-sensei and just close beside him.  
>"I was being sarcastic, he looks like a ghost, he isn't really a ghost." Daisuke says.<br>"Stop saying ghost!" I whine.  
>"Sorry." Daisuke mumbles.<br>".. Anyway.. lets go Komaru-sensei!" Susumu says, then begins dragging Komaru-sensei away.  
>"Wha.. where are we going Susumu?" Komaru-sensei asks.<br>"We're taking you home. Come on you two, we're a squad who's good to our sensei!" Susumu exclaims.  
>"Yes! That we are! Come on Setsuki!" Daisuke says, running after the other two.<br>"Coming!" I chime then go to run after them when Gai-sensei puts a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.  
>"I just remembered what I was going to do. Setsuki, before you go, there's something I want to give you." Gai-sensei says.<br>"You two go! I'll catch up!" I call. They nod and continue walking. "What is it Gai-sensei?" I ask, facing him.  
>"I have a gift for you! This gift is the reason why Lee is so strong.." Gai-sensei says.<br>"Oh? What is it?" I inquire, wanting really badly to know. Gai-sensei grins and reaches into his Jonin jacket.  
>"THIS!" Gai-sensei exclaims, pulling out a green suit. My eyes sparkle at the sight. "It's the ultimate, stream-lines, form-fitting, easily-accessible, perfectly-made bodysuit! Wear it while training and you'll <em>know<em> the difference! You'll never look back! Our Lee wears it 24/7, and, of course, it is my most-beloved piece of ninja must-have!"  
>"COOL!" I exclaim, totally in awe watching it wave around in the slight wind.<br>"... You're not serious.. are you Setsuki?" Tenten asks with a frown. I take it from Gai-sensei's hands and spread it out in front of me.  
>"It looks like the perfect size!" I exclaim.<br>"Of course it is!" Gai-sensei says, giving me a thumbs up. I smile big at Gai-sensei.  
>"Thank you Gai-sensei! I will wear it forever!" I exclaim then run straight past Komaru-sensei and the others, headed straight home to change. Just wait till Lee sees me in this!<p> 


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23  
><strong>

I change as soon as I get home, and Gai-sensei was right! It's a perfect fit! It hugs the body, not too tight, not too loose, and extremely easy to move in. In fact, easier to move around in than my other clothes! The fabric is a soft luxury on the skin and it holds my chest perfectly!  
>"Speaking of chest.." I mutter, looking down at them. "I hope they don't stick out too much.." I go across the hall to the bathroom and look in the mirror. "Nope! I'm glad I'm small, they hardly stick out at all.. though not exactly flat, but not too big. Rather perfect!"<br>"What're you going on about?" Takashi asks, walking down the hallway.  
>"Nothing~" I chirp then exit the bathroom. One look at me, and Takashi seemed to become pale. "Huh? What's wrong Uncle Takashi?" I ask.<br>"W-wh-what the hell is _that_?" He questions, pointing to my new bodysuit. I grin and give him a thumbs up.  
>"THIS IS GAI-SENSEI'S ULTIMATE TRAINING BODYSUIT!" I exclaim rather loudly and enthusiastically.<br>"Oh lord no! No no no! Take it off! It's hideous! What has he done to you!"  
>"I don't want to take it off! I love it!" I exclaim. I then scratch my chin thinking. "I wonder if it comes in blue.."<br>"NO! Setsuki take that disgusting thing off!" Takashi scowls.  
>"No!"<br>"Yes!"  
>"NO!"<br>"NOW!"  
>"... no." I mutter.<br>"Ugh." Takashi grumbles and slaps his hand across his forehead. "I swear, if you grow thick eyebrows I will never speak to you again."  
>"Kuh, don't be silly, thick eyebrows aren't for girls! Silly Takashi." I coo. He frowns at me as I skip happily past him. "Oh! I should put my headband around my waist too!" I say. I take my headband off my forehead and look at the strap. "It's very small... I wonder if it will reach.." I mumble, then put it against my waist, it wasn't going to reach. "Time to go shopping!" I chirp then scurry off down the streets in my awesome new suit.<br>As I run I could already feel the difference, I felt so much lighter, my legs could move faster, thus my running felt like lightning! …. Not that it was though.  
>"Setsuki? Setsuki!" Sakura calls. I immediately stop.. well tried to, I went sliding for a meter before tripping and tumbling across the ground. Sakura runs over.<br>"I'm okay!" I exclaim, jumping to my feet. I realize it's going to take a while to get used to stopping in such light clothing. I look up at Sakura's expression. "...What?" I ask.  
>"What the hell.. are you wearing?" She asks, giving a disgusted look. I grin and give her a thumbs up.<br>"Gai-sensei's ultimate training bodysuit!" I exclaim.  
>"... Why would you wear that?" She asks.<br>"Sakura-chan, you need to try one on! Trust me, they're great!" I exclaim.  
>"... Yeah, no. Never! They look disgusting!" She gushes.<br>".. You're mean.." I mumble, pouting.  
>"Ugh, anyway, I wanted to talk to you." She says.<br>"Not now Sakura-chan! I gotta show Lee-san!" I exclaim.  
>"You can hold off for a minute, geez!" She grumbles and pulls my wrist, dragging me to a building.<br>"Yamanaka Flower Shop?" I ask, looking up at the sign.  
>"Yep."<br>"Daisuke works _here_? Ahahaha!" I laugh.  
>".. No, Ino does." Sakura replies, my laughing stops.<br>"Oh.." Sakura walks to the counter where Ino was fixing up a vase of daffodils.  
>"Ino!" Sakura calls. Ino faces us with a raised eyebrow and stands up straight.<br>"Well well, if it isn't billboard brow and.. what the hell are you supposed to be?" Ino asks.  
>"Youthful!" I reply. She sweatdrops.<br>"Can it Ino!" Sakura gushes.  
>"What're you gonna do about it?" Ino questions.<br>"You two remind me of Daisuke and Susumu.." I mention. They both sigh.  
>"Look, I came to talk about something." Sakura says.<br>"What is it?" Ino asks, catching on to Sakura's slight sad face.  
>"It's about Sasuke-kun." Sakura says.<br>"Ugh.." I groan. They both glare daggers at me. "Wh-what?" I ask, raising my arms defensively. "S-Sasuke's too young for me anyway!"  
>".. You've got a point there.." Sakura says.<br>"Hm, one less girl for Sasuke-kun to chase." Ino says dreamily, then faces Sakura. "So? What about Sasuke-kun?"  
>Sakura looks down. "He's in the hospital."<br>"What?" Both me and Ino ask.  
>"Again?" I ask in a way that would make him seem weak. They glare at me again.<br>"Yes. _Again._" Sakura scoffs.  
>".. So.. why am I here again?" I ask.<br>"Because of the reason he's in hospital." Sakura says.  
>"I didn't do it! I swear! Seriously! I have nothing to do with whatever happened to him!" I exclaim, waving my hands innocently.<br>"Well, actually you do.." Sakura says.  
>"What? How dare you hurt my Sasuke-kun!" Ino wails in anger.<br>"I-I DIDN'T!" I shout.  
>"OH YEAH!"<br>"YES!"  
>"IF YOU'VE HURT HIM IN ANYWAY I'M GOING TO TEAR YOU APART!"<br>"I'LL... I'M INNOCENT THOUGH!" I exclaim.  
>"SURE YOU ARE!"<br>"YES! I AM!"  
>"YOU TWO SHUT UP!" Sakura shouts over the top of us. We both quieten down. "Sheesh! No the reason why Sasuke-kun is in the hospital is because he was attacked by.. his brother.. Itachi."<br>My eyes widen in fear. "I-Itachi?" I stutter.  
>"Yeah." Sakura replies.<br>"No way!" Ino exclaims. Sakura faces me.  
>"And I heard from Asuma-sensei that you have met him." Sakura says. Ino gasps.<br>"YOU'VE MET ITACHI!" She questions.  
>"N-not really.. well.. sorta..." I reply. Ino plops both hands on my shoulders and shakes me back and forth.<br>"YOU'VE MET UCHIHA ITACHI AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ANYONE?" She screams. I was getting dizzy.  
>"Ino, stop it." Sakura grumbles. She stops and lets go of me, and I fall over. "So, what was he like Setsuki?"<br>"Uhh.." I sit up rubbing my head. "Well... he's sorta.. dark and mysterious... and really scary.. but he's kinda calm as well... not someone I'd want to be around.. AND HIS PARTNER! HE'S A SHARK!" I exclaim, getting wide eyes.  
>"... Itachi sounds just like Sasuke-kun!" Ino says.<br>"Yeah! Except for the scary part." Sakura says.  
>"A SHARK!" I exclaim again, emphasising my fear. "A WALKING SHARK!"<br>"I wonder what he's like though, I mean, would he be anything like Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asks.  
>"Well, he <em>is<em> Sasuke-kun's brother." Ino mentions.  
>"GUYS! A WALKING SHARK!... WITH BLUE SKIN! <em>BLUE<em>! …" I stare at the two going on about Itachi, not even listening to me. "Blue... blue is a cool color though.. blue skin.. cool!" I smile to myself and stand up. "Imagine how cool it would be having blue skin! Wait..." My eyes widen. "I'm admiring a bad guy!" I run out of the flower shop.  
>I run down the street, completely forgetting what I was doing.<br>I found myself in a very quiet street, and it got on my nerves the stupid feeling of being alone with no one around hit me, and I did not like it. I run down that street and into the next street without even slowing down, because in this new bodysuit, stopping is hard. I begin to slow down to come to a clean stop. Which I successfully performed. I smile, proud of myself. I look around the street, not really looking for anything in particular, just, you know, casually looking around. Something caught my eye.. bubbles. I blink.  
>"Ehehe! Bubbles! Ahah!"<br>"Daisuke?" I ask, seeing the immature boy jumping around like an idiot, popping them. He immediately pauses at the sight of me.  
>"S-Setsuki?" He questions. "What are you doing here?"<br>"You like bubbles?" I ask.  
>"... A little.."<br>"Looks like you really do enjoy them.." I mention.  
>"Uh.."<br>"They go 'pop'!" I exclaim then smile at him.  
>"Uhh..."<br>".. Okay! Fine! Don't laugh.." I grumble, folding my arms.  
>"Setsuki?"<br>".. What?"  
>"What.. the hell.. is that?" He questions, pointing at my suit. I sigh, not in the mood for repeating myself.<br>".. Wait a minute! I was gonna show Lee!" I exclaim. "Thanks for reminding me Daisuke!" I call as I run straight past him, headed for the hospital.

"Rock Leeeee!" I call, running down the corridor, his door was open. I run straight past it, but grab the door frame to prevent taking off, and I fall over as a result.  
>"Setsuki?" Lee asks from inside. I stand back up and make a big step and go inside, smiling. His eyes widen at the sight of me.<br>"Look what Gai-sensei gave me! It's a perfect fit!" I exclaim, smiling bigger. Lee was in awe.  
>"Th-that.. I-it..."<br>".. What's wrong?" I ask. His mouth moves in all different ways like he was trying to say something. I blink. ".. Lee-san?"  
>"SETSUKI THAT IS AMAZING!" He shouts. I feel a bit modest now. "I-I never expected anyone else to wear one of Gai-sensei's ultimate training bodysuits!"<br>"They're amazing!" I say. Lee smiles big.  
>"Haha, now you just need leg warmers like mine and a red headband and we'll be almost twins!" He mentions. I got an idea from that.<br>"Leg warmers... Lee-san, do you think those leg warmers come in blue?" I ask.  
>"Blue? Uh.. I do not know." He replies.<br>"Maybe I should ask Gai-sensei.."  
>"Yes! Gai-sensei will know! He knows everything!" Lee exclaims. I walk over and sit on the bed.<br>"I'm still getting used to feeling so light." I laugh. He laughs too.  
>"Yes, I was the same, but it is effective with training!"<br>"I believe you! I mean, I don't want to take it off!" I laugh.  
>"Yes! Soon enough you will build up so much leg muscle that you may need to wear weights to slow you down!" Lee says.<br>"Weights? L-like the really heavy ones you wear?" I ask.  
>"Yes.. maybe not quite that heavy for you, I mean, I have been training for many years so I am used to it." He explains.<br>".. Lee-san."  
>"Yes?"<br>"I'm going to become as strong as you!" I exclaim, pointing at him. He chuckles slightly.  
>"Setsuki-san.. I think you already are.."<br>"What?"  
>"You.. have defeated me once.."<br>"Psh, Lee-san, Gai-sensei never stops talking about you, and how strong you are. It makes me feel weak. So I have to train up and get stronger!"  
>"G.. Gai-sensei talks about me that much?" He asks, tears rolling down his cheeks. I felt bad, I think I made him cry..<br>"S-sorry.." I say.  
>"I KNEW I MADE GAI-SENSEI PROUD!" He happily exclaims, more tears of joy falling. I smile. "Oh! Oh! Setsuki-san!"<br>"Yes?"  
>"They're letting me out of the hospital on Monday!" He exclaims.<br>"Monday! Really! That's great!" I exclaim.  
>"Though, I'll still need my crutch..." He says, his spirit falling.<br>"A-at least you'll be out of his jail..!" I say, trying to cheer him up a bit. Lee nods.  
>"Yes, you are right." He says. "Just three more days. Then I can resume my training!"<br>"... Yeah." I say, I don't want to be the one to prevent him from fulfilling his dream, but I don't want him to hurt himself.  
>"Setsuki?.. Setsuki~? .. Daisuke are you sure she came to the hospital?"<br>"Yes! Of course I'm sure! I'm never wrong about these things Susumu."  
>"Psh, yeah, coz you stalk her."<br>"HEY!"  
>"... They're louder than me." I mumble. Lee immediately nods in agreement. I thought about it for a second, Lee hasn't actually heard how loud I can be. '<em>He'll find out one day.<em>'  
>"Setsuki~?" Susumu calls.<br>"I'm here!" I call through the door way. I heard the two pairs of footsteps make their way down the corridor and into the room. Susumu's eyes widen at me.  
>"You weren't kiddin'..." He says.<br>"I never kid!" Daisuke exclaims.  
>"Yeah you do.." I say, butting in on the argument. The duo look at me. "So what are you two doing here?" I ask before they could say something.<br>"We've been called on a mission." Daisuke says.  
>"But we can't go on a mission! We're only Genin, and Komaru-sensei is sick!" I exclaim.<br>"Nah, we're getting a temporary replacement." Susumu says.  
>".. Is it Kurenai-sensei?" I ask.<br>"No. No it's not Kurenai-sensei." Susumu says.  
>"Then who?" I ask.<br>"We'll find out when we get there. The elders are the ones giving out missions in the meantime while Naruto-kun and Jiraiya-sama are going to look for Tsunade-sama." Susumu explains.  
>"Wow! A mission! It's been ages!" I say.<br>"I know!" Daisuke agrees.  
>"... Well, I wish you luck, Setsuki-san!" Lee exclaims, trying to hide his inner disappointment. I didn't really pick up on it.<br>"Thanks! We'll be back in no time!" I say, giving Lee a thumbs up. Lee nods. "Well, see ya later Lee-san!" I say.  
>"Yes, I'll still be here." Lee says with a slight chuckle. I smile but then Daisuke and Susumu begins pushing me out of the room.<br>"Um, what kind of mission is it anyway?" I ask.  
>"Dunno, we'll find out when we get there." Susumu says.<p> 


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24  
><strong>

"Homura-sama, Koharu-sama." Susumu says as we enter the room. The two elderly people raise their heads to look at us.  
>"Who are you lot?" Koharu speaks with a gush.<br>"Uchida's squad if I'm not mistaken." Homura answers.  
>"Oh, Uchida's. Yes, call him in." Koharu speaks, beckoning to a Jonin standing by the door. The Jonin bows.<br>"M'lady." He speaks before disappearing. We stood around for a minute until he came back with another Jonin.  
>"Yamashiro." Koharu says. This new Jonin walks past us and gives her a respectful bow.<br>"Yes, Koharu-sama?" He replies.  
>"You are taking Uchida Komaru's place as Jonin leader of Team Komaru until Uchida recovers from his illness." Koharu says.<br>"Yes ma'am." The Jonin replies, then faces us. "You must be Komaru-san's squad, correct?"  
>"Yes!" I reply, then stare at his red-framed, oval-shaped sunglasses. He chuckles in his throat.<br>"They look like a rather green, nourishing patch to me." He jokes.  
>"Aoba. Please do not joke around." Homura speaks.<br>"Sorry." He replies. "I can't help it."  
>'<em>Green and nourishing?<em>' I look at the three of us, I'm wearing Gai-sensei's ultimate bodysuit, Susumu has a green shirt, and Daisuke.. has green eyes. "Ohhh, I get it!" I say, then start laughing. They look at me strangely.  
>".. Heh, so you get my humor little broccoli?" Aoba asks, grinning at me.<br>"Broccoli?" I ask.  
>"Well.. look at you!" He laughs. I pout.<br>"I'm not little!" I grumble.  
>"You are to me." He sniggers. Okay, he had me there, he's like a tower compared to me.<br>"Enough, leave all that for your leisure time." Koharu gushes, becoming impatient.  
>"Sorry." Aoba says, facing the to elders again.<br>"Now as for this mission, it is rather important that it successes." Homura says.  
>"Aren't all missions like that?" Daisuke asks. Susumu growls and hits him over the back of his head.<br>"Ow.."  
>Homura clears his throat. "The mission is this; find and capture a rogue ninja."<br>"R-rogue ninja?" I stutter.  
>"Don't worry yourself young one. This criminal is only C-rank, the four of you should be able to bring him down." Homura says.<br>"Sounds simple enough." Susumu says.  
>"C-rank?.. That's nothing." Aoba says.<br>"Precisely. This is thus a C-rank mission. This person's name is Shigeki Masataro. Distinctly, he has white hair, a scar down his left cheek, and usually wears black clothing. The reason we want you to capture this man is because not only did he betray his village, he also stole a rather important scroll from our forbidden library." Homura explains. "The main importance of this mission is to retrieve the scroll before it lands in the wrong hands. And if the situation becomes too dire, you have permission to kill this man."  
>"I understand." Aoba says.<br>"Uh yeah, we do too." Susumu says. I stand up straight and salute.  
>"I understand too!" I exclaim. They all sweatdrop.<br>"Alright, where was his last seen location?" Aoba asks.  
>"The lodging town, not too far from Konohagakure. It should take you roughly a day and a half to get there." Homura says.<br>"So either leave now or very early hours in the morning." Koharu says.  
>"Yes ma'am." Aoba says.<p>

"We gotta pack!" I exclaim.  
>"Well duh!" Susumu scoffs.<br>"I will meet you three at the gates in 10 minutes, alright?" Aoba says.  
>"I UNDERSTAND! NOW I WILL GO PACK!" I exclaim loudly, making them cringe.<br>"Stop shouting!" Susumu gushes.  
>"I had to get it off my chest..." I say. Susumu glares at me. "Uh... 10 minutes!" I say then run off home to pack.<p>

Just 30 minutes out of the village and we had to stop.. Why? Because apparently boys can't control their bladders.  
>I lean against a tree with my arms folded and eyes closed, waiting for them.. Wherever they are. They went to go behind a bush but they were being so immature that I couldn't handle it and walked off a little further away.<br>I sigh to myself. '_How long does it take to pee?_' I open an eye and see a kid in front of me. I blink. He was glaring at me.  
>"Uh...?"<br>"You're a Leaf ninja!" He exclaims, pointing at my headband.  
>"Yeah..?"<br>"I'm gonna defeat you!" He growls then goes to kick me. I sidestep, making him kick the tree instead. "Oww!"  
>"Uh, kid, you shouldn't be out here alone." I say. He turns to me with fists.<br>"What makes you think I'm alone!" He questions then looks past me for a second. Leaves in the trees began shaking slightly and I look up at them.  
>"How many is ther- oomph.." I look down seeing his fist against my stomach.<br>"I said I'm gonna bring you down!" He says, then goes to punch me again, but I effortlessly catch his fist then kneel down to his height. "Don't mock me!" He growls then goes to punch my face, but I catch his other fist as well.  
>"I'm not mocking you.. I'm simply kneeling down." I say.<br>"I don't care! Me and my friends will defeat you!" He exclaims, the leaves kept moving. I look up again, and he goes to kick me, and personally, I was getting fed up with it. I jump backwards, letting him go, and look around at the trees.  
>"Well, in that case, I have to defeat you all!" I say to the trees. I jump up and quickly run around on the moving branches looking for these 'friends' of his. But there was nothing there. I blink. Something else was making the branches shake.<br>"Hey! Come back down here you coward!" The kid wails. I jump down behind him and kick him into a tree, making sure to hold back so I don't seriously injure him.  
>"OW!" He cries. I walk over to him.<br>"A kid such as yourself can't take on a kunoichi from the Leaf and expect to win." I say.  
>"Help me! She's going to kill me!" The kid pleads. Behind me I heard bushes rustle as though someone jumped out. I close my eyes with a sigh and turn around, catching this person's foot inches before it hit me.<br>I open my eyes, seeing another kid, though, distinctly older. "Lemme go bitch!" He shouts, trying to break my grip.  
>"Kids shouldn't be using language like that!" I say, astounded by his language.<br>"You hurt my little brother! How dare you!" He growls. I drop him. "OW!"  
>"Just who are you two?" I ask.<br>"Nii-chan she hurt me!" The first kid cries.  
>"I know!" The older one gushes. "I'm going to kill her for you! I told you you're not strong enough!"<br>"But.. But I just wanted to do something right.." The other whines.  
>"Shut up! I need to concentrate here!"<br>"Alright, time out." I say, putting my hands on both their heads and forcing them into a sitting position. "Tell me who you are."  
>"Why should we!" The younger one snaps.<br>"Konoha ninjas can't be trusted!" The older one says, standing up. I fold my arms.  
>"Are you two orphans?" I ask.<br>"NO!" He wails. "NOW DIE!" He shouts, grabbing a pocket knife from his jacket and threatens to stab me with it. It didn't really bother me.  
>"Hey, I don't want to hurt you two, but you're not giving me much choice.." I say.<br>"Argh! Shut up!" The older one shouts then goes to stab me with it. I avoid it and catch his wrist then throw him into another tree.  
>"Nii-chan!"<br>"OW! .. Ow.. that hurt!"  
>"It could be worse." I mention. The little one runs up to me and start repeatedly punching my thigh.<br>"Please! Don't hurt my brother!" He wails.  
>"Kunihiro! Get away from her!" The older one shouts.<br>"Kunihiro?" I ask, looking down at the one still punching me. He gives me a pleading look.  
>"Don't hurt him please! He's the only family I have!"<br>I felt sorry for them now. The older one comes running back. I close my eyes and jump up into the trees, and I could've sworn my hand hit something between the branches. I squint my eyes and saw a lot of wire string connected to nearly all of the branches.  
>"Oh, so this was supposed to be a fluke." I say. I turn around and see the older kid standing there.<br>"I do not have these ninja skills for nothing!" He shouts.  
>"Ninja skills? You?"<br>"You're doubting me!"  
>"Then prove it!" I say, staring intently at him. He growls and does a couple of hand signs. I study them carefully, then I realize they're the exact same hand signs Komaru-sensei uses for his..<br>"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He says, then inhales. I very quickly perform hand signs.  
>"Water Style: Water Shockwave!" I quickly say then a large spiral of water shoots up like a hurricane. The boy goes to breathe out his fireball as the water quickly rushes to him, however it was only a tiny flame, no bigger than an index finger, and the water throws him from the tree from it's brutality. It slams him into the ground after I had no control of it.<br>"Nii-chan!" The younger one cries, running over. I jump down beside the older one before the other could get to him.  
>He looks in serious pain. "... Like I said, you shouldn't fight a proper kunoichi and expect to win." I say. He slowly opens an eye.<br>"P-please.." He croaks. "Don't.. hurt my brother.."  
>"Nii-chan!" The other cries and pushes past me.<br>"I wouldn't have done this if you didn't start it." I say. The older one looks at me for a moment before looking down and sitting up. He hugs his little brother tightly. I crouch down.  
>"Sorry.. we just don't like Leaf ninjas." The older one says. "We.. had a bad experience with one.."<br>"That doesn't mean we're all bad." I say. They both look at me questionably. "I'm Kuromizu Setsuki." I say, extending my hand. The older one hesitantly takes it and I pull him up to his feet.  
>"I-I'm Ukita Takumi and this is my brother Shou." The older one says. I tense up at the name 'Shou'.<br>"Well.. nice to meet you both. But tell me, why are you out here alone?" I ask.  
>"Well.. we had a small cottage.. out here... but an evil man came and... took over." Shou says, looking down. Takumi sighs.<br>"Evil man?" I ask.  
>"Yeah, a Leaf ninja." Takumi says.<br>"Oh.. wait..." I trail off in thought. "Did he have a slash through his headband?" I ask, pointing to my headband. They shake their heads. "Oh.. well, what did he look like?"  
>"Um.. it was a while ago.. but he had white hair.. his eyes were dark and.. he was evil.." Takumi says.<br>"White hair... hmm.. did he have a scar on his cheek?" I ask. They shake their heads. I sweatdrop.  
>"I think he said his name was Mizuki.." Takumi says.<br>"Mizuki? I've heard that name before.. somewhere.." I say, trying to think.  
>I heard the trees rustle and three people lad behind me. I frown.<br>"Seriously, how long does it take to pee?" I question. They snigger. I turn my head around and sweatdrop, realizing it's not my team..  
>"Takumi, Shou, come home wont you?" One of them says.<br>"Tch..!" Takumi stands up and in front of Shou protectively. I stand up, standing between this trio and the kids.  
>"Who are you?" I ask.<br>"Oh, oh! A Leaf kunoichi! Haha, and she's all by herself!" They scoff.  
>"S-Setsuki-san.. please, take care of them." Shou shyly says.<br>"Are these bad people?" I ask.  
>"Bad? Did you hear that? <em>Bad<em>. Ha!" They laugh.  
>"Why you..!" Takumi growls then goes to attack one, but they go to counterattack. I jump between them and catch this stranger's fist.<br>"Takumi, Shou, get back. I'll take care of them."  
>"... Come on Shou." Takumi says, picking his brother up.<br>"But nii-chan.." Shou whines.  
>"Shh, she's going to help us." Takumi says, then jumps off.<br>"Heh. Alright, we'll take out this girl, then go after 'em." One of them says. I get into my fighting stance.  
>"Do not underestimate me." I say, giving them a serious face.<br>"I'll go first." Says the one in the middle as he steps forward. I jump up in the air.  
>"Severe Leaf Hurricane!" I say, going to kick them all down. I manage to hit the one that stepped forward, but the other two ducked.<br>"Alright! Lets take 'em down!" Says one of the two standing. I face him curiously. He faces his teammate and goes to attack.  
>"H-hey! Ozuru! What're you doing?" The other questions, trying to defend himself. I blink.<br>"Don't worry Setsuki, I gotcha back!" The one attacking 'Ozuru' says.  
>"Eh?" I stare at him. I have never seen him before.<br>"Psst, Setsuki."  
>I turn around and see Susumu in the bush behind me. I jump over, Aoba-sensei and Daisuke were also there.. well, Daisuke seemed to be unconscious.<br>"What happened?" I ask. Susumu rolls his eyes.  
>"Mind Transfer. Surely you'd know that by now, we've been teammates for how long?" Susumu scoffs. I pout.<br>"Gah! Get out of my head!" Ozuru shouts, holding his head. The third stands up and looks around.  
>"Where is she?" He questions.<br>"Probably ran away in fear." Ozuru sniggers.  
>"Psh, I sense them in that bush over there." The other says.<br>Aoba-sensei performs 3 hand signs. "Scattering Thousand Crows Jutsu!" He says, then suddenly, what looked like thousands of crows appear out of no where and move around the three. I couldn't see them at all. "Come on, lets go."  
>Aoba-sensei picks up Daisuke on his back, then jumps off. Susumu and I follow.<p>

"Wait!" I call and stop on a branch, they stop and look back.  
>"What is it?" Aoba-sensei asks.<br>"Takumi and Shou! Those three guys were gonna hurt them!" I exclaim.  
>"Who?" Susumu asks.<br>"Two kids I found. Well, they found me, but those bad guys want to hurt them." I say. Aoba-sensei sighs.  
>"We have our mission. This is their problem, not ours." Aoba-sensei says.<br>"But.."  
>"No, come on." Aoba-sensei says, then continues jumping. Daisuke begins to wake up slowly.<br>"Morning sleepy." Susumu scoffs, jumping after them. Daisuke's eyes snap open.  
>"SETSUKI! MY LOVE! WHERE ARE YOU!" Daisuke calls. I sweatdrop. Susumu and Aoba-sensei laugh.<br>"Water Clone Jutsu.." I mutter, secretly creating a clone. I signal for the clone to follow them, and I go off looking for Takumi and Shou.

I go back to where those three guys were. Apart from a lot of black feathers on the ground, the area was empty.  
>"Dammit!" I groan. I look around. '<em>Which way did they go?<em>'  
>"Urrgh.." I hear. I look around for the cause of the noise. "Wh.. what?"<br>I blink towards a rock. I walk over curiously and see a battered snake, it's coloration consists of a light brown and pure white underneath. It's size.. looks more like an over-grown python rather than a snake, but it's not quite as long as a python. It looks up at me, making me tense up. I remember Uncle Takashi once saying that snakes are a bad omen. It sticks it's tongue out, feeling the air around it.  
>"You. Human, help me out here." It speaks. I almost jump.<br>"Y-you spoke..?" I exclaim. It sighs.  
>"Of course I can ssspeak. I'm a sssummoning animal." It says.<br>"Summoning?" I ask.  
>"Yes.. now jussst help me out." It says. I look at the rock.<br>"You.. wont hurt me, right?" I ask. It wiggles it's head, I took that gesture as a head shake.  
>"You don't have the sssame hostile presssence as thossse othersss." It says.<br>"Others? You know which way they went?" I question.  
>"Well, no not really. I sssaw them chasssing a pair of children, it'sss my nature to protect youth you sssee, I thought if I maybe ssstrike them the youthsss could get away.. however, I wasss wrong.." It says. "However I don't know where my massster isss."<br>"Your master?" I ask.  
>"Yes. Every sssummoning animal has a massster." It grumbles.<br>"Who's your master?" I ask.  
>"Hisss name isss Yakussshi Kabuto," I tense up. "however I don't think he really wantsss me back. He brought me out here, sssaying I am too gentle and that I am worthlessss.. and he did not releassse me back to my world. Ssso I am trapped here." It explains.<br>"I see..." I reply and lift the rock up, freeing it.  
>"Ahhh. Thank you human." It says.<br>"No problem."  
>"Ssso you know thossse kidsss?" It asks.<br>"Well, not really. But they're in trouble and I need to help them." I say. "But.. I don't know which way they went.  
>"Come thisss way." It says, then slithers off. I blink and run after it.<br>"You can track them?" I ask.  
>"I wouldn't call it tracking. I would call it following." It replies. I sweatdrop.<br>"Right.."  
>"Keahebi." It says.<br>"Huh?"  
>"My name." It replies.<br>"Oh, Keahebi huh? I'm Kuromizu Setsuki." I reply.  
>"Sssetsuki. Very well." It says.<p>

It wasn't long before I heard shouting, rather, the shouting of Takumi. "I sssense them." Keahebi says.  
>"I can hear them." I say.<br>"Thisss way." Keahebi says and slithers faster. For a snake, he sure is fast.

We run/slither until we find them. I saw the trio standing with their arms folded, facing Takumi and Shou who were backed up against a rock face.  
>I go to run out to them but Keahebi shoots in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. I blink.<br>"You're a ninja, correct?" He asks.  
>"Yes..?" I reply.<br>"Ssstealth.." He says.  
>"I uh.. stealth isn't really my strength.." I mutter. Which is true, I almost failed that class at the academy.<br>"Well.. attack from a dissstance. Ussse a jutsssu or sssomething."  
>"Ohh. Well that's easy." I say.<br>"Do you know any long range jutsssu?" He asks.  
>"Of courssse I do." I reply, then realise I'm starting to hiss as I speak as well. I sweatdrop. "Eh.. watch and be in awe Keahebi!" I exclaim while quickly performing some hand signs. "Water Style: Water Gun Jutsu!" I gush out a powerful gush of water from my mouth, slamming into Ozuru from behind, and smashing him into the rock face, causing him to become unconscious.<br>"Well, I'm not in awe.." Keahebi says. The other two turn around, acknowledging my presence. "I would be in awe if you had taken them all out with one hit."  
>"... Whatever.." I grumble.<br>"You again..!" One of them growls.  
>"We'll take you down!" The other exclaims. They both begin running towards us.<br>"Here they come.." I say.  
>"I'm on it." Keahebi says, then bolts through the ankle-high grass. However, it didn't really hide Keahebi as much as he would have hoped, because Keahebi is about 3 inches taller than the grass. I have to cover him, after all he is my comrade for now.. even if he is a reptile.<br>I run towards the duo and after a good enough run up, I jump into the air. They both stop running and look up at me.  
>Keahebi used this minor diversion to strike. He bites one of their ankles, sinking his fangs all the way in. The guy wails in pain. The other guy growls and goes to attack Keahebi. I come down to drop kick him, however he grabs my foot and throws me into a tree.<br>It hurt. I cough a bit and stand up rubbing my back.  
>"Setsuki's back!" Shou shouts. I smile at them and give them a thumbs up.<br>"Here to help!" I say.  
>"Kick their butts Setsuki!" Shou says.<br>"I will!" I say with a slight chuckle.  
>"Now you've really pissed me off." Says the one who threw me. The one Keahebi was attacking fell over with white bubbles falling from his mouth like he was paralysed.<br>"I will not let you hurt those kids!" I exclaim.  
>"Kuh. Yeah right. You're no match for me." He scoffs. I run at him. Keahebi goes to attack him. The guy pulls out a kunai. I notice his headband which his hair covers. He's a rogue from Kirigakure. The guy moves quickly and tries to stab Keahebi, I quickly throw a shuriken at his hand, redirecting his arm, making him miss and Keahebi bites his wrist. "OW! FUCK!"<br>"Heh, my turn!" I exclaim the run at him with a kick. "Dynamic Entry!" I kick his face, and before he went flying, Keahebi quickly slithers up my arm and sits across my shoulders. I watch as he smashes through a tree and into the rock face, becoming unconscious. I grin.  
>"That was a clossse call." Keahebi says. I turn my head to face him.<br>"Yeah. It's a good thing Gai-sensei trained us well in reflexes otherwise I might not have been able to move that fast." I say.  
>"You ssseem like a good perssson, Sssetsuki."<br>"Thanks." I reply. I walk over to Takumi and Shou with Keahebi on my shoulders still. "Are you two alright?" I ask, kneeling down to their height.  
>"Yeah." Takumi replies. I smile and ruffle their heads.<br>"So where are you two from?" I ask. They look at each other nervously.  
>"Well.. Kirigakure.." Takumi mutters. I stand up straight.<br>"Kirigakure is an enemy of Konohagakure right?" I ask.  
>"Asss far asss my knowledge goesss, I believe that isss correct." Keahebi says.<br>"Wow a talking snake!" Shou exclaims.  
>"Shh." Takumi hisses. "And yeah.. that's why we attacked you.. and probably why that Mizuki guy attacked us."<br>"Well where's this house you spoke about?" I ask.  
>"Um... it's around here somewhere." Takumi says, looking around.<br>"Nii-chan, it's down there." Shou says, pointing down a small cliff face.  
>"Oh, closer than we thought." Takumi says.<br>"So are you two okay now?" I ask.  
>"Yep! Thanks heaps Setsuki!" Takumi says.<br>"Yeah! You rock Setsuki-nee-chan!" Shou says. I blink and Takumi looks at him, then smiles at me.  
>"Right. Setsuki-nee-chan." He concurs. I scratch my cheek and smile.<br>"Wait, one more question." I say.  
>"What is it?" Takumi asks.<br>"Why are you living all the way out here if you're from Kirigakure?" I ask.  
>"Well.. parents were.. um.. we're orphans.." Takumi says. I feel a wave of sadness hit me. They don't have parents either.<br>"Do.. do you have a guardian at all?" I ask. They shake their heads.  
>"B-but it's okay. We can manage on our own." Takumi says. "And well the reason we're out here far from our village is because no one likes us there. So we.. came out here." Takumi explains.<br>"I see."  
>"And I want to become a ninja one day too!" Takumi exclaims.<br>"Yeah! Me too! I want to be a ninja so I can explore the world! There's so much out there and I want to see it all." Shou says.  
>"That's quite an ambition!" I say. They look at me again, smiling. I give them a thumbs up. "If you two keep at it, I'm sure you'll both become great ninjas!"<br>"Thank you Setsuki-nee-chan!" They cry in unison. I smile back at them.  
>"And stay safe." I say. They nod.<br>"I hope we meet again one day!" Shou says. "I wanna spar if we do, and I'll win for sure!"  
>"That's the spirit! I look forward to it." I say, giving them both the nice guy pose... without the sparkly teeth. They both return the thumbs up. "Alrighty, I had better get going. Goodbye you two." I say.<br>"Bye Setsuki-nee-chan!" Shou replies.  
>"See ya." Takumi says, picking his brother up on his back. "I also hope to meet again one day." I nod and watch him jump down the cliff-face and run off. I turn around and begin walking and face Keahebi.<br>"Now that isss sssomething to be in awe about." He says.  
>"Whaddaya mean?" I ask.<br>"Normally, enemy ninjasss would kill each other. You being from Konoha, and them being from Kiri, I'm quite sssurprisssed that you didn't kill him."  
>"I would never harm a kid." I say.<br>"Hmm.. Sssetsssuki."  
>"Yeah?"<br>"Thisss isssn't sssomething I would normally sssay, but I like you." He says.  
>"Thanks, I like you too." I reply.<br>"Would you consssider becoming my new massster?"  
>I blink. "Master? Really?"<br>"Yesss. Then you may sssummon when you wish."  
>"Really! Of course I will!" I say, getting excited.<br>"Excellent. All you need to do isss sssign a blood contract with me." He says.  
>"Blood contract? What do you mean?" I ask. He slides down off my shoulders and I crouch down and extend my arm so he could go to the ground.<br>"You mussst write your name in blood on a sssummoning contract. In other wordsss a contract with sssnakesss consssidering that's what I am."  
>"So.. I'll be able to summon heaps of snakes?" I ask.<br>"Yesss. But each time you sssummon one of usss, you must offer blood."  
>"I see. Well, I'm in!" I say. Keahebi nods and a sudden puff of smoke makes me jump. A scroll sits as the cause of the smoke. "What's that?"<br>"The contract. Unravel it to an empty ssspace." Keahebi says. I nod and unravel the scroll across the ground. I notice a lot of names written in blood. The first name written – 'Orochimaru'. Further along.. 'Yakushi Kabuto'.  
>I finally find an empty spot. "So I write my name in blood."<br>"Yesss."  
>I get a kunai from my pocket and prick my finger on it. I wince slightly, but compared to other things I've been through, this didn't hurt at all. I write my name 'Kuromizu Setsuki'.<br>"Excellent. Now ssso that I know you can sssummon usss properly, I want you to perform thessse hand sssignsss in conjunction; Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram."  
>I nod and do that.<br>"Now usssing the blood on you hand, put your hand on the ground."  
>I put my hand on the ground.<br>"Now concentrate on bringing forth a sssnake."  
>"Uh.. okay." I reply and close my eyes to concentrate. After a minute I open my eye seeing some sort of strange black markings on the ground. Smoke began coming out between my hand and the ground.<br>"Ssseemss you've got it." Keahebi says. Suddenly, 'poof' and I felt something wriggling under my hand. I lift it and see a small snake. A really really tiny one. "... Well it could be better."  
>"Hey! It's my first time!" I exclaim.<br>"I know. Practise thisss and in time you will be able to sssummon much larger sssnakesss.. and don't forget about me."  
>"I wont forget about you." I say.<br>"Right. Now, if you will, releassse usss."  
>"Right!..."<br>"... It'sss jussst like releasssing a clone."  
>"Ohhhh." I perform the hand sign. "Release." Both snakes poof into smoke, including the scroll. I stand up straight, grinning. "I can summon snakes!" I exclaim. "I'm already that much stronger than Daisuke and Susumu!" I blink, that feeling of loneliness shrouds me again. I shiver then begin running back the way I came, just hoping my team hasn't gone too far. I don't want to be lost in this forest.. alone.<p> 


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

"DAISUKE-KUN, SUSUMU-KUN, AOBA-SENSEI..?" I practically scream into the atmosphere. No response was heard.

I whine a little, more and more scared by the second.

"This is not cool.." I groan, looking around, jumping at every little sound. I swear, I'll faint if something suddenly jumps ou-

"HEY LOOK SHIKAMARU!" Someone exclaims, jumping out from a tree randomly.

I scream at the top of my lungs, my heartbeat increased to the maximum, and my body feeling numb from the fright. I stop screaming and take a deep breath.

"O-oh! Sorry I didn't mean t-"

He was cut off by me letting out another scream. A hand was suddenly slapped across my mouth, resulting in a muffled scream.

"Hush! Do you want us to be killed?" A female's voice gushes.. now that I kinda pay attention.. a familiar female voice. I blink and stop screaming. She removes her hand and stands beside me shaking her head.

"Heyyy I know you!" I say, looking at the blonde girl. She frowns. Then a third person jumps down, making me jump, then a fourth, making me stand up against Ino. Ino rolls her eyes and pushes me away.

"It's just Shikamaru and Asuma-sensei, sheesh calm down." Ino complains.

I take a big sigh of relief. Asuma-sensei looks around, a cigarrette sticking out of his mouth. "You out here alone, Setsuki?" He inquires.

"W-well.. er... how do I put this?"

"... Your squad ditched you?" Shikamaru inquires.

"Sorta.." I reply.

"What do you mean, sorta?" Shikamaru asks.

"We-"

"Want a chip?" Choji asks, holding out his chip packet to me. I blink, then smile.

"Hai! Arigato!" I reply, taking a chip from his packet, and eating it in one bite.. suddenly getting the craving for more. I stare at his packet with hunger. Choji blinks then gives me a slight glare. I blink and back off, hiding behind Ino who just sighs.

"As you were saying..?" Asuma-sensei mentions.

"Er, well I.. got left behind in a way.." I explain.

"Left behind... and how did that happen, exactly?" Asuma-sensei asks.

I take a deep breath. "!" I exclaim.

They all give me blank expressions. ".. Can you repeat that, slower?" Ino asks.

"ANDTHENIGOTLOSTAN-"

"SLOWER!" Ino shouts, making me shut up.

"... I rescued some kids and and and my squad kept on going and then and then I got lost an-"

"Alright. That about sums it up I suppose-"

"OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?" Ino screams over the top of Asuma-sensei, finally noticing my clothing. I blink. "WH-WHAT IS THAT HIDEOUS THING?"

"This?" I inquire, gesturing to my beloved green suit. Her face lost all color. "It's Gai-sensei's ultimate training suit! You should get one Ino! It's really ama-"

"EW EW EW TAKE IT OFF! UGH THATS DISGUSTING!" She complains.

My eye twitches. "But.. if I take it off.. I'll be naked.." I say. All of them face palm.

"Lets change the subject.. which way did your squad go?" Shikamaru asks. I shrug, making him sigh. "So troublesome.."

"Well surely you'd have some idea. Where was your squad headed?" Asuma-sensei asks.

"Er, the lodging town to get a bad guy for our mission." I answer.

"That's not that far from here. Shikamaru, would you mind..?" Asuma-sensei inquires, looking at his student. Shikamaru gives him that sincerely annoyed expression.

"Do I have to..?" Shikamaru grumbles.

"Yes.." Asuma-sensei replies.

"Ugh.." Shikamaru sighs dramatically and faces me with that bored look of his. "What a drag.."

"Thank you Shikamaru~" I chirp. He rolls his eyes and puts his hands in his pockets.

"Come on then.." He grumbles and begins walking.

"You know where to meet us, Shikamaru?" Asuma-sensei asks.

"Hai hai.." Shikamaru grumbles.

"Bye guys!" I say, waving at them, then I stop. "Um.. Choji-san..?"

"Hm? .. NO THEY'RE ALL MINE!" Choji shouts then takes off literally hugging his chip packet. I sweatdrop.

"I just wanted to know where you got your scarf from..." I say, but was left unheard.

".. Eh, lets go Ino." Asuma-sensei says then jumps off, Ino nods and quickly follows.

"Are you coming..?" Shikamaru inquires, looking back at me.

"Huh? Oh, yosh!" I reply, then quickly run a few steps to catch up, and walk beside him.

"You know... only you would get left behind by your squad, you know that.. right?" Shikamaru says.

"...? What do you mean?" I ask.

Shikamaru looks up at the sky shaking his head. "Don't worry.." He sighs.

So after an hour of me telling Shikamaru allllllll about my week and his facial expression never once changing from his frowny look, we finally arrive! I look around with a smile, then Shikamaru suddenly turns around.

"H-hey, where are you going?" I inquire, stopping to look back at him.

"Well, you're here now, I need to get back to the others." He bluntly replies.

"But.."

"See ya." He says, then within a second, jumps away, leaving me there.. alone...

But when I three people walk past I calm down, at least I'm not _completely_ alone now. I begin wondering through the street, and the further I walk, the more people I find!

I walk past a building that seems to be a hotel, and there were workers up on ladders fixing a reeeeeaaaallly big hole in the wall. I tilt my head with interest, and approach the site.

"Excuse me..?" I say, getting one of their attention.

"Huh? What is it?" He asks.

"What happened!" I question.

"Ah, something about some Konoha ninjas like yourself taking on two AKATSUKI!" He exclaims.

"A-Akatsuki!"

"Yeah, something to do with conflict between Uchihas or something." He says.

I blink. '_Was this maybe related to the incident Gai-sensei talked about..?_' I look at the hole again and my eyes widen. '_If those Akatsuki members did this.. then imagine what they could do to a person..!_' I shiver at the thought.

"W-well that's certainly.. scary.." I say.

"Damn straight. I'd hate to come across one.." He says.

"Eh.. I should get going now..." I say, then kinda just walk away.

As I look around, I realize it's going to be practically impossible to find these three..

"LEAF HURRICANE!"

"Huh?" I look up seeing a random guy being thrown across the air, he lands at my feet, and I blink out of confusion. I look up again, seeing... myself? Running towards me, the other me does a few hand signs.

"WATER GUN JUTSU!" She shouts. My eyes widen and I quickly jump to the side as she shoots out a gush of water at the guy.

"Setsuki! That's enough!" Aoba-sensei calls, jumping down beside the other me. As soon as he saw me, he tilts his head and looks between the two of us. "What the...?"

"Hey hey!" Daisuke exclaims, jumping down from somewhere, Susumu following seconds later. He blinks. "Why are there two Setsuki's?"

"I dunno!" I exclaim.

"Baka! You're a baka!" The other me exclaims at me. "Baka baka! Did you not forget I'm your clone!"

I blink. "Clone?"

"Gargh!" She face palms herself.

"Clone..? I don't recall you preforming the clone jutsu, Setsuki." Aoba-sensei says to the clone.

"Ugh! Tell them yourself, baka." My clone says then collapses to a puddle of water. All eyes turn to me, and I sweatdrop.

"Er... sh-shouldn't we deal with this guy?" I suggest, gesturing to the guy laying half unconscious on the ground with my thumb.

"Yes... strange, anyway. Seems finding this guy wasn't so hard after all." Aoba-sensei says, turning his attention to the guy. I quickly, and quietly, sigh of relief.

"Shigeki Masataro. He has the distinct white hair, and the scar down his left cheek. It's him alright." Susumu says.

"Hey, you, Masataro, you're coming with us, any objections will be held against you. Now hand over the scroll you stole." Aoba-sensei says, holding his hand out to the guy.

Masataro opens an eye and growls. "You think your petty Genin can defeat _ME_?" He snarls, jumping to his feet.

"Tch..! He was faking!' Susumu exclaims.

"I got this!" I exclaim, then randomly cling to the guy.

"GET OFF ME YOU LITTLE BITC-"

"SETSUKI WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING NOW?" Susumu questions. I cling tighter, even wrapping my legs around the guy, making sure he can't move his arms.

"I'ma holdin' him down!" I exclaim.

There was a moment of silence.

"... Well are you guys going to do something?" I finally ask, wondering why they're not moving. Then I look at them and realize they look like they're in some sort of trance. "What the..?"

"What's wrong little girl..? Don't know Genjutsu when you see it?" Masataro snickers. My eye twitches.

'_Did.. did he just.. say... GENJUTSU? CRAAAA-_'

"Now get the hell off me!" He shouts then somehow slides out of my grip with a jump, making me fall on my butt. I felt something extremely heavy hit the back of my head, and I blacked out.

...

"Shut it."

...

"Setsuki, seriously, shut up."

...

"Someone please wake her up.."

"SETSUKI!" Shouts a young-sounding voice.

My eyes snap open and I cling to the pillow I was hugging.. well at least.. I thought it was a pillow..

"Finally, geez I thought you'd never shut up."

"Daisuke?"

"Yeah?" He replies. I heard a muffled snigger and look down, realizing what I was clinging to... Konohamaru's head.. in my chest... I immediately let go and push him off, then saw his pink cheeks.

Daisuke laughs. "Geez I've never seen someone talk so much in their sleep." Daisuke says.

"I don't talk in my sleep." I say.

"Oh, my bad, you sleep fight. You know, all the leg-swinging and the 'Leaf Hurricane-ing' and stuff." Daisuke scoffs.

"Naruto-nii-chan was right about you Setsuki-nee-chan." Konohamaru says.

"About what?" I inquire, sitting up.

"You are on the small side.." He says with a small grin forming. I had no comment to that, so I remain quiet.

"Heh, don't worry, she'll grow out." Daisuke says, ruffling Konohamaru's hair.

"I wonder if they'll be big!"

"Yeah, the bigger the better!" Daisuke concurs.

"But then again, what if they stay small?" Konohamaru mentions.

"Then that wont be good." Daisuke says. "I wonder if there's like food or something that makes them grow!"

"Oooh! If there is then we should make every girl in the village eat it!" Konohamaru agrees.

"Yeah! Particularly Setsuki."

"Hai hai!"

"CAN WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T INVOLVE MY BOOBS?" I finally shout, interrupting their little happy moment. They both blink and look at me, then crack up laughing. I sigh - boys will be boys.

I took this time to examine the room.. the cursed hospital... I get anime tears.

"How long am I stuck in here for?" I whine.

"Huh? Oh they said you're okay to go when you wake up." Daisuke says. I smile.

"Okay, out we go." I say, jumping up from the bed, and walk to the door. I open the door, about to run out when I trip on the bottom part of the door frame, but as I fall I hit something, or rather someone, and they fall on top of me. I land on my back, then all of a sudden, Lee's face.. inches from mine...

Both our eyes widen and we struggle to try and move. I try to sit up, and Lee pushes himself up to his knees with one arm, allowing me to slide out from underneath him, then I quickly stand up and help him to his feet.

"A-Are you alright L-Lee-san!" I question, feeling my cheeks burning up. His face was red, maybe he was sick..?

"Y-Yes I am fine.. a-are you alright?" He asks, grabbing hold of his crutch and standing himself up properly.

"The bastard's slick.." Daisuke grumbles, glaring at Lee. I took no notice.

"Are you sure y-you're alright? You look kinda red in the face." I mention. Lee looks at me.

".. S-so do you Setsuki-san." He replies.

"Can we get moving..?" Daisuke inquires, slightly nudging me.

"Oooh I think Daisuke-san is jealous!" Konohamaru chimes. Daisuke's eye twitches and he turns to Konohamaru with a fist raised.

"What'd you say!"

"You heard me!" Konohamaru shouts back.

"I'MA TEAR YOUR LITTLE HEAD OFF YOU LITTLE!"

"... Erm.. lets just leave these two.." I say. Lee nods in agreement, and so I walk with him back to his room, leaving Daisuke and Konohamaru to argue.. loudly.

Lee sits on his bed, and I just stand there. "Wait... why are you in the hospital.. again?" Lee inquires.

"Well I... don't know.." I reply, becoming confused as to why I was even there in the first place.

"Oh, we-"

"Waiiiit! Wait wait, I remember now! I think it was when I was fighting that guy! Yeah! He knocked me clean out!" I exclaim. Lee sweatdrops. Then I realize something.. did we end up getting the scroll? "E-eerrrrr not being rude but I gotta go find Aoba-sensei!" I exclaim.

Lee nods in understanding. "Hai, I hope to see you again soon Setsuki-san! ...?" Lee blinks. "Setsuki-san?"

I was already running down the streets searching for Aoba-sensei.. but who knows where he is. "AOBA-SENSEI! AO-"

"Sheesh! Setsuki shut up!" Susumu shouts, jumping down in front of me, making me jump.

"DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!" I complain.

"STOP SHOUTING!"

".. Okay.."

He rolls his eyes. "What are you shouting about?" He asks.

"I'm looking for Aoba-sensei!" I say.

"Why..?"

"Coz I wanna know if we got the scroll!"

"We did."

"Oh... okay~!" I chime, then walk around him. "See ya later." I say, going to put my hands in my pockets, but only end up sliding them against my thighs.. there are no pockets in this training suit. I sigh, thats a bit of a let down. But oh well! "Hm.. what kind of mischief should I get up to?" I ponder aloud to myself.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

He was panting heavily after that impact. He takes two steps forward, the blond woman's attention turns to him.

"He.. hit you with that technique, yet you can still move?" She inquires, panting herself.

He snickers and steps forward again. "I accumulated chakra to my abdomen, and began healing myself before I took the hit." He replies smugly. "Orochimaru-sama does not favor me because of my techniques or sense... but because of my unrivaled regeneration. The ability to activate my cells and create new ones." He takes yet another two steps forward. "It seems that technique was Naruto-kun's last resort..."

Naruto lay on the ground whimpering in pain, yet unconscious at the same time. The blond woman gives the grey-haired boy a glare. The grey-haired boy- Kabuto.

Kabuto steps forward again with a snigger, but then suddenly he stops with a cringe, his eyes widen, and his glasses crack. He falls to his knees and falls completely, his face to the ground, his eyes wide, completely immobilised.

Upon a twitch of Naruto's hand, the woman leans down and puts her ear against his chest, listening for a heartbeat. She gasps and sits up straight in panic. "He has arrhythmia!"

She unzips his jacket and puts one hand on his chest, the other on his stomach.

"Damn it, his heart muscles are torn up. How did it happen?" She panics. She clenches a fist and puts two fingers over Naruto's heart, starting her mystical palm technique to attempt to heal it.

Kabuto shakes slightly and lifts his head up smirking. "Naruto-kun cannot be saved. The organ that converts the Chakra of the Nine-Tails into power.. The heart. I cut up the Chakra circulatory system in his heart, with everything I had. It was to eliminate the possibility for him to heal on his own. There's no way he can recover!"

...

"Setsuki-chan~"

I blink a few times, snapping out of my daze.

"Heh, you realize you're just standing in the middle of the street in a complete daze.. right?"

"Sakura-chan?" I ask. She giggles.

"Yeah, it's me." She says. "...? What's with that look?"

"S-Sakura-chan, I think something bad happened.." I say, becoming concerned.

"Huh?" Her face turns serious. "Like what?"

"I.. don't know.. I just get the feeling.." I say, scratching my arm, then realizing I have goosebumps.

Sakura shakes her head with a slight laugh. "You're just imagining it." She says. I look back at her.

"But.. Naruto-kun, I feel like something has happened to hi-"

"Listen Setsuki, this kind of thing happens all the time. It's just your subconscious, you've been separated too long, now you're worrying that something's happened to him. It's because you miss him." She explains. I relax a little.

"If you say so." I reply.

"So, I heard you were knocked out yesterday, hm?" She mentions.

"Y-yesterday? You mean I've been unconscious over night!" I question. Sakura laughs with a nod.

"Yes! You ought to be more careful you know. You got lucky this time it was only a small wound which they fixed up in like 10 minutes." She says. I rub the back of my head and wince.

"It still hurts..." I groan.

"Well obviously. Have you been home yet?"

".. No..?"

"Well I think you should. You need a shower, sleeping in that ghastly thing all night." She says. I frown.

"Pfft, call it what you want!" I say, pointing at her. "It is awesome, and nothing will change that!"

"Oh..? Reaaaally?" She chimes.

"Hai." I reply with a nod.

"Not even.. a visit to the Hot Water Village?" She asks. I only began listening as she said water.

"What about water?" I inquire, giving her an interested look. She rolls her eyes.

"The Land of Hot Water! I hear they have great hot springs there, and that they heal fatigue and apparently it's good for your beauty." She says, flicking her hair with her hand femininely. "I'm sure if we go, then we're bound to get a lot of boys' attention!"

"But uh.. I don't really want boy's attention... I already have Daisuke-kun trying to have me as his girlfriend." I say.

"Daisuke? That blonde guy on your team?" She asks. I nod. "Oh, well.. better boys!"

"Like who?"

She giggles. "Like Sasuke-kun." She says.

"But.. Sasuke-chan's too young for me."

"... Teehee that means less competition for me~" She chimes.

"What about Lee-san?" I mention.

"Well... I don't know why, but if you want him after you then that's fine too." She says. I shake my head.

"No no, I meant, why don't _you_ go out with Lee-san? He really likes you Sakura-chan." I say.

"Yeeah, but.. I don't know.. I mean, he's not really.. my type." She says.

I frown. "It's because of his eyebrows, isn't it?" I groan.

"Whaa? No... no of course not." She says, her eyes turning to avoid mine. I just stare at her with a frown. "... Okay, maybe his eyebrows are a little too big for my liking.."

"AHA! I KNEW IT!" I exclaim.

"BUT! I still think he's a good guy! It's just.. I like Sasuke-kun." She says. I sigh, I suppose you can't really force someone to like someone, it's a natural thing.

"It's alright. I understand." I reply, giving her a small smile. "So the Hot Water Village, eh?"

"Hai! Me and the girls were planning it out. You wanna come along?" She asks.

"Hai! Is there someone coming to supervise us, or are we going on vacation?" I ask.

"Oh, Kurenai-sensei offered to take us girls. It's going to be great! No boys to spy on us either!" She exclaims.

"I'm definitely coming! When are we leaving?" I inquire.

"At 11am. We're meeting up at the village gates. Kurenai-sensei says it'll take about 5 hours to get there, and we'll be allowed to stay there for a night too!" She says.

"Great! What time is it now?" I ask.

"Uh.. maybe 10?"

"THEN I MUST PACK! I WILL MEET YOU AT THE VILLAGE GATES AT 11AM ON THE DOT!" I exclaim, saluting her. She sweatdrops.

"Setsuki I-.. Setsuki?"

I was now running home to pack. Sakura face palms.

I burst in through the door and runs straight down the hallway to my bedroom and grab the backpack out from under my bed and plop it on my bed then open my wardrobe and search through it.

"Hey hey! What's all the noise?" Takashi questions, walking up to my bedroom door, standing in the doorway.

"I'M GOING T-"

"INSIDE VOICE!"

"... I'm going to the Hot Water Village with Sakura-chan!" I exclaim, grabbing a few of my favorite blue shirts and 2 pairs of my dark blue pants and stuffing them inside my backpack as well as I could, then go and grab an extra bra.

"Waaait wait wait, the Hot Water Village? Is someone going with you?"

"I think Sakura-chan said Kurenai-sensei is coming." I say.

He folds his arms and leans against the door frame as I stuff the bra in my backpack too. "Any boys going that I don't know about..?"

I frown. "Nooooo. It's a girl's vacation!" I exclaim, going to my dresser to get some underwear.

"Ah, that's what you tell me now." He says with a small chuckle. I turn to him and poke my tongue out childishly, he just laughs more.

"Yeah yeah." I groan, then stuff the underwear in my bag too, then throw a book in there in case I get bored, but like that'll happen. I then pick the backpack up and throw one strap over my shoulder and walk into the kitchen and grab a canteen and fill it up then throw that in there too. Then I had to try and close it..

"You shouldn't just stuff things in there, you should learn to pack neatly." Takashi says.

"I'll get it! Believe it!" I exclaim, still trying.

".. You've been hanging around that Kyuu-"

"His name's Naruto!" I exclaim over the top of him, annoyed.

"Well whatever. You've been around him too much, you're beginning speak like him." He says. "Speaking of which, I haven't seen him for a while."

"He's out with Jiraiya-sama to find Tsunade-sama to become Hokage." I say.

"They let _him_ out of the village..?" Takashi mutters to himself.

"Well, I gotta get going, it's close to 11. I'll be back tomorrow sometime." I say, then walk over and peck his cheek. "Love you~"

Takashi smiles and kisses my forehead. "Love you too. Now be safe." He says.

I nod. "Hai, I will. See ya!" I say, then literally jump through the window and run off to the village gates.

I waited around for 30 minutes.. I guess I left too early, but oh well, at least I wont be late. I was doing sit ups by the time Kurenai-sensei arrives.

"Oh? Well aren't we an eager one? Setsuki, wasn't it?" She asks.

"Huh?" I sit up and smile at her. "Yup! Gai-sensei says I must look after my figure, and train up my muscles!" I exclaim.

"Ah." She laughs slightly. "Gai, huh? Hah, I can clearly see you have taken a liking to him, the way you're dressed.. half like him." She mentions. I blink then look at my suit and laugh.

"Yep! In my opinion Gai-sensei is the best Jonin in all of Konohagakure!" I exclaim.

Kurenai-sensei puts a hand on her hip. "Oh.. well in that case..."

I blink a few times, then jump to my feet, waving my hands about. "A-after you, of course!" I say, feeling like I just insulted her.

She just merely laughs and puts a hand on my head, ruffling my hair slightly. "It's alright. So by the look of your backpack, you're coming too?"

"Hai! Sakura-chan told me about it!" I say.

"Hm. Very well." She says with a smile. "The other girls shouldn't be too far away. It's almost 11."

"Hai..." I stood there, spacing out for a second. "Must keep training!" I sit back down and resume my sit ups. Kurenai-sensei shakes her head smiling.

"Kurenai-sensei, I'm here!" Ino calls, running over.

"Oh, hello Ino." Kurenai-sensei replies.

".. Setsuki? You're coming t-" Ino stops talking and sighs. "I really refuse to be seen around you wearing that g-"

"Ghastly thing. Meh!" I say, ending her sentence while still doing sit ups.

"Alright we're here!" Sakura calls, walking up to us beside Hinata. I sit up again.

"Is this all of us? What about Tenten? Is she coming?" I ask.

"Yes yes, Tenten is coming too." Kurenai-sensei says.

I look around in my sitting position, then after deciding she'll be late, I put my hands behind my head and lay back down for a moment, with my eyes closed.

I heard giggles and open my eyes, seeing Tenten's face upside down, inches from mine. My eyes widen. "WAHHHHHH!" I jump to my feet and cling to the closest person – Hinata.

Tenten cracks up laughing. "Slacking off already? We haven't even left yet, Setsuki!" Tenten laughs.

"E-e-ermm.. S-Setsuki-san.." Hinata stutters. I blink.

"Oh.. eh heh.." I let go of her and stand up straight.

"Alright, are we all set?" Kurenai-sensei inquires.

"Hai!" We all reply. Kurenai-sensei smiles.

"Alright, it's 11am on the dot, lets head out." She says, and we follow as she starts walking.

"Did'ja know these hot springs are meant to make you appear more beautiful?" Ino says to Sakura who she is walking beside, they are walking behind Kurenai, I was walking beside Tenten, and Hinata on the other side of me.

"Yes! And when we get back Sasuke-kun's going to absolutely fall in love with me!" Sakura replies.

Ino's eye twitches. "How the hell would he like someone like you?" Ino questions.

"I'm on his team! He's more likely to love me, than you, Ino pig!" Sakura gushes.

"Yeah! Well he's only bound to notice you more because your big billboard brow will be in the way!" Ino gushes back. I sweatdrop.

"What'd you say!"

"You heard me!" Ino gushes.

"Girls.." Kurenai-sensei sighs. Sakura and Ino growl at each other, before looking away from each other with a 'hmph!'.

"Sure glad we're not like that, eh Setsuki." Tenten sniggers.

"Yup. I.. get that kind of thing enough from my clones anyway." I say.

"So girls." Kurenai-sensei says, looking back at us all with a slight smirk. We all give her clueless expressions. "Got any crushes, aside from the obvious?" She inquires, looking at Sakura and Ino, then us three at the back.

Hinata's face turns red and she presses her index fingers together. My eyes widen. "My gosh Hinata-chan! Are you alright?" I question. Tenten laughs.

"No Setsuki, that's called a blush." Tenten says.

".. Blush?" I ask.

"... Seriously?" She asks, frowning at me. I blink. "A blush is when your cheeks go red from thinking about the person you like, or if you're near them."

"WHAT?" I shout, remembering what happened earlier at the hospital. "B-but I don't like Lee-san in that way!" I say.

"YOU DO LIKE LEE!" Tenten exclaims.

"Of course she does!" Ino exclaims. "Don't you remember that day when we over heard them talking?"

"No pig, Setsuki doesn't like Lee. She told me." Sakura says.

"Watch it billboard." Ino growls.

"Then, who do you like, Setsuki?' Tenten inquires. I put a finger to my chin.

"I've.. never really thought about it." I say. They sweatdrop.

"Naw come on, a girl your age has to have developed at least one crush." Kurenai-sensei says. "We're all girls here, we have to have these sorts of conversations."

"But I don't like anyone!" I say.

"Alright, we'll take your word for it.. For now." Kurenai-sensei says. "So Hinata, is it still who I'm thinking of..?"

"H-hai.." Hinata quietly replies.

"Who who?" Sakura questions.

"Hinata would rather keep it a secret." Kurenai-sensei giggles.

"Well as for me, SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura shouts.

"NO, SASUKE-KUN'S MINE!" Ino shouts.

"Alright, and you Tenten?" Kurenai-sensei inquires.

"M-me?" Tenten asks, getting the slightest tint of pink on her face. She scratches her cheek. "I'm.. in the same boat as Setsuki. I've never really thought about it."

"Tenten..?" I ask.

"Yeah?"

"We're not in a boat, we're walking on a footpath.." I mention. Tenten face palms.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

"Hm it's down this way, I'm sure of it." Kurenai-sensei says. I notice a small shelter built near the street signs on the dirt crossroads which seemed to be in the middle of no where. But apart from that, there were two people with big strange hats.. that look like straw. I gulp.

"I-it's the A-Akatsuki.." I shiver.

"What?" Tenten asks. I point to the two people, everyone looks over. Kurenai-sensei laughs.

"No they're not Akatsuki. Their hats are flat, the Akatsuki's hates are pointy and have cloth hanging down the rims, remember?" Kurenai-sensei mentions. I sweatdrop. "And not to mention, the Akatsuki have large coats with a red cloud pattern."

"And they don't have them.." I mumble.

"Right, lets keep going. Another half an hour and we should be there." Kurenai-sensei says, then continues walking, we all follow.

And so it was, half an hour later we arrived. There was a main road straight through the ton, which had only a few buildings but a lot of steam in the air from the hot springs.

I look to the sky. "How long has this trip been?" I ask.

"I don't know but I'm buggered!" Tenten complains, drooping around.

"About 4 hours. It's close to 3pm. We still have plenty of daylight left, don't worry Setsuki." Kurenai-sensei says. Tenten anime falls.

"4 hours of non-stop walking? Man.." Tenten complains.

"Lets go find the hot springs now!" I exclaim.

"Well that's what we're here for! Come on girls!" Kurenai-sensei says, then with a small laugh she runs off ahead of us.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ino calls, chasing after her with Sakura and Hinata following.

"Come on Tenten!" I exclaim, then run after them. Tenten groans, pulling herself to her feet and slowly jogging after us.

We walk into the building, when a random guy begins shouting; "Six women have entered!"

Then the two girls standing on the inside of the door bow to us. "Welcome!" They say in unison.

We head to the changing rooms each of us strip to a towel, and one by one head out to the pool. When I got out there Kurenai-sensei, Tenten and Sakura were already soaking in. I smirk and cannonball into the pool, unable to resist.

"GAH! Setsuki!" Tenten gushes. I surface with a grin.

"What..?" I ask. All three frown at me, completely wet now. I giggle slightly, and Hinata walks out and gets in slowly, followed by Ino.

We sat and relaxed for a while, until we began pruning.. well, they did, I didn't. I don't know what it is about me and water, but it's definitely abnormal.

"Oh would you look at that?" Kurenai-sensei says, looking at her hand. "I'm pruning, I think it's about time we get out for a while."

"U-um Kurenai-sensei..?" Hinata mumbles.

"Yes, Hinata?"

"C-can we g-go explore around..?" Hinata inquires.

Kurenai-sensei smiles. "Of course, it's our vacation you can do what ever you want."

I grin and raise my hand to ask something.

"Except get into mischief." Kurenai-sensei says with a sigh.

I pout. "Not eve-"

"No." Kurenai-sensei groans.

I sigh. "Fine I'll go train then." I groan.

"Good girl." Kurenai-sensei says with a small chuckle.

"Yosh! Come on Tenten!" I say reaching for her wrist.

"OH NO!" Tenten shouts, stepping away from me. "This is a vacation! I am NOT training on vacation!"

I pout, getting anime tears.

"Learn to be more girly, come shopping or something." Ino says.

"But shopping isn't really.. my thing." I say.

"Well... go have fun training then!" Ino gushes. I pout, why is she so mean to me? I'm not even wearing my suit! I'm wearing a white kimono with a light blue sleeveless coat over the top!

"I will!" I say proudly.

"Alright. See that building over there with the red sign?" Kurenai-sensei asks, pointing to a building. We all look. "That's where we're staying. You all can head off and do whatever you like, but meet back there at 8pm. That's your curfew."

"Hai!" We reply.

"Oh, and Setsuki." Kurenai-sensei says, grabbing my shoulder just before I take off.

"Yesssss?" I reply, looking at her innocently.

"Don't go getting into trouble." She says.

"I promise!" I say, giving a quick salute. She smiles.

"Good girl." She says, letting my shoulder go. I then take off toward some small hills I saw, not too far from the town.

I see 3 large-ish cedar trees grouped together and look around the clearing. "Ha! I wont find any trouble out here!" I exclaim to myself. I sit down with my hands behind my head then begin doing sit ups.

"One.. two.. three.. four.."

"29.. 30... 31... 32... 33... 3-"

"HEY! I'VE COME!" Someone shouts, approaching the trees. I sit up and blink. My eyes widen. "Come out! Akagi family!" He shouts at the trees. I tilt my head.

'_Why is he shouting at the trees?_' I then notice 2 people, well, the two people with the big hats, step out from behind the middle tree.

"Hm? What do you want kid?" One of them asks.

"That's my line!" The boy grumbles. "I didn't borrow any money from you guys!"

The two men step out from the tree, and approach him.

"So give back my necklace, dattebayo!"

"'My necklace'?" One of the men asks.

"Have we mistaken with that women's?" The other asks, holding up a necklace. Naruto-kun points to him.

"THAT'S IT!" Naruto shouts. I jump to my feet and walk over, but I guess I wasn't noticed. "Give it back!" Naruto screams, running at them. The two flinch.

"Wait!" One says, holding his hands out defensively.

"Naruto-kun!" I shout, grabbing the back of his robe, making him run on the spot.

"Give it back yo- huh? Setsuki-chan!" He says with a smile.

"What's going on?" I inquire, letting go. Naruto points to the two.

"THEY STOLE MY NECKLACE!" Naruto shouts.

"You... have a necklace?" I ask. Naruto frowns.

"It's an important one!" He exclaims. "Now I have to get it back, no matter what, dattebayo!" Naruto runs at them again and does a hand sign. "Shadow clone jutsu!" He creates 10 clones. This is not going to end well.

The two men shriek in fear.

"Here's your punishment!" Naruto shouts, jumping up in the air with his clones then going down to attack. I stare at the two men. '_They're not ninja..._'

"NARUTO WAIT!" I shout, then appear in front of the two men, but he was full on serious about attacking. I quickly do some hand signs. "Water Style: Water Whip Jutsu!" I flick my arm out, and a whip made of water appears, and I whack all of his clones in one swing. Except for the original Naruto, who couldn't stop himself from falling, and he tumbles on top of me.

"Setsuki! What're you doing?" Naruto questions.

"They're not ninja!" I exclaim. Naruto blinks a few times, gets off me then looks at the two men deep in thought.

"Hmmm..."

The two men freak out.

"Bah! Ninja or not! They still stole my necklace!" Naruto says, glaring at them.

"Wait! I-it was Tsunade!" One of them shouts.

"Mm?" Naruto responds.

"Tsunade was the one that borrowed the money!" They confess. They quickly give Naruto his necklace back, and Naruto puts it on.

"Huh? Tsunade?" Naruto asks.

"Hai.. she is called the legendary sucker." One says.

"Ooohh! Story time!" I exclaim, then sit down cross-legged. They sweatdrop, but sit down also.

"You see, she was playing at the Akagi family's gambling den and she lost all her money. We let her borrow the money she lost." One says.

"Here's the IOU." The other says, pulling out a folded piece of paper and handing it to me. I open it up, Naruto peering over my shoulder curiously.

"EHHH!" We both shriek.

"So many zeros!" Naruto exclaims.

"I'm Senta." Says the one with brown hair. "He's Bunzou." He says gesturing to the one with dark colored hair in a ponytail. "Three years ago, we were ordered by our boss to get the money back from her. We left Akagi Mountain risking never being able to return until we got the money back. We heard rumours about that woman. As expected, she moves around a lot. It was hard to find her. But recently, we received information that she was spotted somewhere nearby. We were waiting a short distance from the main road."

"And then you saw old lady Tsunade traveling with us." Naruto says. "But why were you sneaking around?"

"There's a rumour that she cannot be beaten easily in battle." Senta says. "And, if we were to reason with her, we know she wouldn't pay us back."

"True. She's cheap." Naruto says.

"We thought she would pay us back if we ransomed her second most prized possession next to her life, her necklace." Bunzou says.

"That's impossible. Besides, the room you broke into was mine!" Naruto says. Both Senta and Bunzou slouch over.

"I didn't imagine that the owner of the necklace could have changed." Senta groans.

"Um... could you somehow ask her to pay us back?" Bunzou inquires.

"What? I don't think I can, even if I'm asked to.." Naruto says.

"Maybe I could ask her!" I say.

"But she's stubborn." Naruto says.

"Yeah, but she's a girl right? Girl to girl talks usually go smoother, than when you.. ask them... for stuff.." I say.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Naruto questions, pouncing me, pinning me to the ground.

"OW! NOTHING! NOTHING! OW OW! GET OFF!" I whine.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY THAT NO ONE LIKES ME?"

"NO! NO THAT'S NOT IT! OW! I SWEAR!"

"THEN WHAT'D YOU MEAN BY THA-" Naruto stops and blinks, and looks over at Senta and Bunzou and sweatdrops. "As I was saying..!" Naruto says, getting off me. I take in a deep breath and sit up again. "I can't do that!"

"Please! If we don't get the money back, we can't go home!" Bunzou pleads.

"Why can't we, Naruto-kun?" I inquire. Senta grabs Naruto's hands.

"My wife and child are waiting for me!" Senta says, bringing their faces closer.

'_.. What is with boys and being attracted to Naruto? I mean, I remember being told his first kiss was with Sasuke-chan._' …

They get puppy eyes. "If you could, please!" They plead.

Naruto sighs. "Alright alright, I'll try. Come on Ame-chan." He says.

" Wait, I have a plan! Who here's a neat writer?" Bunzou asks.

"Huh? I'll write it." Senta says.

"What's the plan?" Naruto asks.

"We'll pretend that we've kidnapped you both, then hopefully that way she'll want to come find you!" Bunzou says.

I click my fingers. "Good idea!"

"Alright! Tell me what to write!" Senta says, getting out some paper and a brush.

"Hmm. Alright, lets go with.. We have kidnapped.. wait, what are your names?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!" Naruto says.

"Kuromizu Setsuki!" I say.

"Right, we have kidnapped Uzumaki Naruto, and Kuromizu Setsuki. If you want them back safely.. pay back all the debt!" Bunzou says.

"Sounds good!" I say.

"Alright! _We have kidnapped Uzumaki Naruto, and Kuromizu Setsuki. If you want them back safely pay back all the debt! We will wait for you at the three cedars behind the mountain. -Akagi Family._ It's perfect!" Senta says.

"Now... we should tie you two to the tree to make it seem more realistic." Bunzou says.

"Oooh! It's like a game!" I exclaim with a grin, then jump to my feet.

"Wait, I've got an even better idea! I'll make clones to distract her and we'll go find her money." Naruto says. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He creates three clones, and transforms two of them into Senta and Bunzou.

"What about me?" I ask.

"You gotta keep an eye on her." Naruto says.

So, 'Senta' and 'Bunzou' tie me and 'Naruto' to the middle tree, and Senta ran off to take the letter to the village, and returned 10 minutes later.

We stood there waiting... for what seemed like forever. Me and Naruto talked to pass the time, I told him about what I've been doing, and Naruto said he had a big story to tell me.

"I'll tell you when we get back home." Naruto says.

"Why can't you tell me now?" I complain.

"Because... it's something I'd rather tell you when it's just us two." Naruto says.

Senta smirks. "So you're going to confess to her?" He asks.

"EHHH!" Naruto shrieks.

I blink, completely clueless.

"NO WAY! SETSUKI'S TOO OLD FOR ME!" Naruto shouts.

"YEAH!" I butt in, still hardly any idea what they're talking about.

"Alright alright!" Senta says.

"No, it's just something... I'd just rather not say right now.. it's something personal." Naruto says.

".. Alright." I reply. "I can wait."

Naruto nods.

"Hm.. do you think everything will be okay?" Bunzou asks.

Naruto frowns at him. "Don't worry! Dattebayo!"

"Here she comes!" Senta exclaims. I see a blonde woman in a green coat walking toward us.

"Old lady Tsuande!" Naruto cries.

"Hold it!" Bunzou shouts. "Do you know who we are?"

"You are Akagi's subordinates, right?" The woman inquires.

"Then that will make things go faster." Bunzou says. "Pay us back all of your debt!"

"Or else..." Senta says, putting his small sword from it's sheath and holding it to mine and Naruto's throats.

"OH NO WE'RE GONNA DIE!" I cry.

"They will lose their lives." Senta ends his sentence.

"I'M TOO YOUNG AND YOUTHFUL TO DIE! PLEASE TSUGAGI-SAN!" I cry.

"It's Tsuande." Naruto mutters quietly.

"TSUNADE-SAN!" I shout.

"AHH! SAVE ME!" Naruto cries, trying to escape the ropes. I do the same.

"HELP US!" I cry.

"I don't really care about his life, though. And I have no idea who this girl is." Tsunade says, scratching the back of her head.

All four of us become shocked. "WHAAAT?" We all shout in unison.

"What did you say?" Naruto questions.

"... WAHAAAA I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" I cry, getting anime tears. "YOU HAVE TO SAVE US TSUNADE-SAN! YOU JUST GOTTA! MY YOUTH WILL BE RUINED! MY PRECIOUS LIFE WILL BE CUT SHORT! I'M SO SCARED! I'VE NEVER BEEN SO TERRIFIED IN MY LI-"

"Oh shut up." Tsunade gushes.

"Then, the money.." Senta trails off. Tsunade scoffs. "I mean it! I will take their lives!" He holds the sword back to our throats, my anime tears remain.

"I already told you." Tsunade says. "Their lives mean nothing to me."

"You damn old bag!" Naruto gushes.

".. That is something I might've said before." Tsunade says. "If I become Hokage, he will be one of my cute subordinates. As for her... well she could be a pretty subordinate. I can't just watch them die."

We all get small smiles. "Aww, old lady Tsunade." Naruto says.

"This is all I've got right now." Tsunade says, pulling out a wallet from her sleeve and throwing it at the ground. "Take it."

Bunzou steps forward and picks it up. "I will check it out." He says, opening it up, then sees a handful of notes in there. "Huh?"

"I can't pay all of it back, but it should cover the interest." Tsunade says.

"Hmph." Bunzou throws the wallet up in the air and slashes it with his sword, and it poofs into smoke.

"It's fake!" Naruto cries.

Tsunade spits twice, and both Senta and Bunzou grip their arms and cringe. Tsunade runs forward, punching Bunzou to the ground, then jumps forth and does the same to Senta. She then goes to untie the ropes.

"Aren't you going to pay them back?" Naruto asks.

"This is none of your business." Tsunade says.

"They can't go back to their home country." Naruto mentions.

"Yeah! Don't you think that's cruel?" I exclaim.

"Did you...?"

"Then we'll have you give it back by force!" Naruto says. Naruto poofs, loosening the ropes. I jump out and cling to her.. though her boobs kinda got in the way. Senta and Bunzou poof into smoke as well. I grin, little did she know they were all merely Naruto's clo-

"Naruto's shadow clones?" Tsunade asks.

"You have to give back the money!" I say. "You just gotta!"

"Get off me." She grumbles.

"No!"

Her eye twitches. Knowing that deadly look which I get from almost everyone, I quickly make a clone and switch places with it as they get in a small fist fight. I jump behind the bushes where Naruto, Senta and Bunzou are.

"I knew she wouln't pay us back so easily, but I didn't think she'd be that sneaky." Naruto says.

"What should we do?" Senta asks.

"We go find the money ourselves!" I say. They nod.

Next thing we know, we're on the roof hiding behind a sign, looking in through a window of a building called Tsuruya, seeing the real Tsunade sitting, sipping Sake.

"Damn it! I'm captures, yet she's relaxed by drinking sake." Naruto complains.

"It's that bag, right?" Bunzou asks, looking at a red briefcase leaning against the wall behind her. "How are we going to get it?"

"Setsuki will get it." Naruto says.

"Whaaa? Why me?" I question.

"You're stealthy, right?" He asks.

"... No, not really." I reply, remembering that one mission with my squad when I first became a Genin.. we were supposed to sneak into a hideout of enemies and I tripped over..

"Erm.. then.." Naruto trails off in thought. "Hm.. leave it to me, dattebayo." Naruto says with a smirk. Naruto then disappears.

"What's he up to?" Senta inquires, looking at me.

"Knowing Naruto... anything." I reply. We watch through the window, as the door opens and a girl with short black hair was standing there.

"Tsunade-sama, you're back already?" She inquires. "Ah, so the bag was here!" She walks over to it. "It's dangerous to leave it here, so I'm going to have the inn keeper hold onto it." She picks it up and walks back to the door. "Well then.." She closes the door.

Tsunade blinks, then pours more sake into her cup.

"I'm.. guessing that was Naruto." I say. "Come on." I jump down to the balcony of that building, Senta and Bunzou follow. The black-haired girl runs over to us and sighs of relief, then poofs into smoke, revealing Naruto.

"Here. I got it." Naruto says with a grin, holding the briefcase up.

Senta and Bunzou cheer. "All right!" Then suddenly the briefcase began flying away...


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Tsunade was standing on the roof of the Tsuruya building, with a fishing line, reeling in the briefcase.  
>"NO! Old lady Tsunade!" Naruto complains. "Damn it.. a Hokage...A Hokage should act like one and pay back their debt! A Hokage is someone who is supposed to protect everyone, right?"<br>I stood there nodding in agreement. "Yeah!"  
>"And these guys can't go back to their home country, so they're in trouble. Do something for them!" Naruto shouts.<br>"Naruto-san." Both Senta and Bunzou say.  
>"Or what? Other people in other countries don't matter? I wont approve of such a Hokage." Naruto growls.<br>Tsunade looks the other way with a huff.  
>"NOW!" Naruto shouts, then throws a kunai at the line, runs down the stairs and catches the briefcase and throws it at us. "There. Hurry! Hurry! Run for it!" Naruto shouts.<br>"Right!" Senta replies, then we all start running, Naruto follows behind us. Tsunade jumps down and follows.  
>"Oh no! She's catching up!" Bunzou whines.<br>"I'll stall her!" I say.  
>"Haaaiii!" Naruto replies. I stop and turn around.<br>"Alright Tsunade! Prepare for the wrath of youth!" I exclaim, then run at her. "Dynamic Entry!" I jump up and kick her backwards a few feet, but then she poofs into smoke, revealing a... pig? I stand there and blink a few times.  
>"Tonton?" Naruto questions.<br>"WHERE?" I question, looking around. ".. I don't see Tenten.." I say.  
>"Nooo! Tonton! The pig!" Naruto says. They stop and walk over.<br>"Naruto!"  
>"Huh?" We all turn around seeing another Tsunade running at us.<br>"Give that bag back!" She shouts, getting a dangerous look in her eye. "Or else!"  
>"G-give me the bag!" Naruto says, taking the briefcase, he then goes to run away, but then Tsunade suddenly appeared in front of him, about to punch him. "Wahaaa!"<br>"Naruto!" I quickly dive in and catch her fist.. but.. her strength is challenging, I use both hands to stop her arm from moving forward. "Go! I'll stall for time!" I say.  
>"Hai! Lets go!" Naruto says, running off with Senta and Bunzou..<br>"Get out of my way kid!" Tsunade shouts.  
>"Noo! I gotta let them get away!" I say.<br>"I will hurt you!" She warns clenching a fist with a glare.  
>"Na ah!" I shout back." I am strong! Gai-sensei told me!" I exclaim.<br>"Outta my way!" Tsunade punches my gut, sending me flying away.  
>"WAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"<br>I land on the other side of the town, luckly I didn't fall on anyone or crash into anything, I just landed on the ground and slid a bit. "Owie..." I groan.  
>"Setsuki?"<br>I blink and look up seeing Sakura and Ino.  
>"What the hell are you up to?" Ino gushes.<br>"NARUTO-KUN!" I shout, jumping to my feet. Sakura sighs.  
>"She's just worried about Naruto because she hasn't seen him for ages." Sakura explains.<br>"Oh, but why was she flying through the sky?" Ino asks.  
>"I dunno, hey Set-... suki..." Sakura frowns. "Geez, you only have to blink and she's gone."<br>I run around a corner, colliding directly into Naruto, we tumble. "GAH! Oh it's just you Setsuki..." He says. I blink. "... WE HAVE TO KEEP RUNNING DATTEBAYO!" Naruto shouts, we both jump up and continue running beside each other.  
>"OVER THERE!" I shout, pointing to Tsunade. I get out a kunai and throw it at her without thinking.<br>It hit her in the stomach.. but then, she poofed.  
>"WHY ARE YOU MAKING CLONES OF TSUANDE?" I question.<br>"THEY'RE NOT MY CLONES THEY'RE OLD LADY TSUNADE'S CLONES!" Naruto shouts. I see another Tsunade running at us, she runs up to Naruto, punching him. But then Naruto poofs.  
>"EHH!" I shriek. Tsunade faces me.<br>"WHERE'S THE REAL NARUTO!" She questions, grabbing my shirt, shaking me back and forth.  
>"I DON'T KNOW!" I cry.<br>"GARGH!" She goes to start running when I stick my foot out, tripping her over. She poofs. I look up at a building and jump up on the roof, and look around at the streets filled with many Naruto's being chased by many Tsunade's everywhere.  
>"I must make clones too!" I exclaim, then do a hand sign. "Multi Water Clone Jutsu!" I create maybe 30-35 clones. "ALRIGHT! MOVE OUT! WE HAVE TSUNADE'S TO DEFEAT!" I say, then jump down off the building.<br>"YAAAAAY BUTT-KICKING TIME!" They all shout in unison and jump down too all going in different directions.

Moments later I had the sensation, all my clones had been destroyed. I hide behind a fence and peer around the corner, and I see about 8 Tsunade clones standing around looking around. I bite my lower lip. '_How will I get past there.._'  
>"Setsuki!"<br>"WHAAA! IT WASN'T ME! I SWEAR!" I exclaim, then I realize it's not Tsunade, it's Kurenai-sensei.  
>"What.. are you doing?" She asks.<br>"Nothing.." I say.  
>"Why are you so jumpy? You better not be up to any mischief." She says.<br>"I-I'm not." I reply. "But uhh.. I gotta get moving." I say, then run away again.

A while later I heard a lot of shouting, I turn to the right, seeing Naruto running in my direction, with all of Tsunade's clones chasing him. I blink a few times.  
>"WAHHHH GET OUTTA THE WAY AME-CHANNN!" Naruto shouts.<br>I quickly jump up onto the roof of a nearby building, then as they run past, I notice Senta and Bunzou following after them. I was beginning to think I could make it flood, and wash all the Tsunade's away, but that would get me in trouble..  
>The Tsunade in the lead, jumps and kicks Naruto's back, making him tumble and then she holds him up by her hands wrapped around his arms and holding him up off the ground.<br>"Damn it. Let me go! Let me go!" Naruto cries. All of Tsunade's clones disappear.  
>"Nooo! Let Naruto-kun go!" I shout then jump down from the roof, my foot tapped a cord travelling across the roof, making me trip and face plant into the ground beside her. ".. ow.."<br>Naruto kicked around trying to get free, when he dropped the briefcase and it flung open, revealing some small bags, folded up clothes and a wallet which fell out. Now was my chance! I quickly get up and grab the wallet. "S'okay Naruto! I got it!" I exclaim.  
>Senta and Bunzou catch up and stand beside me. I throw the wallet at Senta who catches it and opens it. "Alright! Good work!" He say, and begins opening it. He pulls out some notes.. but not money notes.<br>"Alright! We got it!" Naruto cheers, still being held by Tsunade. Senta begins flicking through them.  
>"IOU's?" Senta inquires.<br>"It's not money?" Bunzou asks. They fall to their knees. "No way.."  
>"This is horrible." Senta whines.<br>"What are you doing?"  
>We all turn seeing... another Tsunade, but this one was wearing a light pink kimono and a brown coat over the top, and there was this random old guy standing beside her. . The other Tsunade freezes on the spot.<br>"EHH? So that ones a fake!" I question pointing to the Tsunade in the green coat.  
>"We are inside the town." The pink-kimono wearing Tsunade huffs. "What's the meaning of this? Even you're involved. Explain this, Shizune."<br>I blink, then the other Tsunade laughs nervously then poofs into that black-haired girl Naruto-kun transformed into earlier. "Good day, Tsunade-sama." She says, scratching the back of her head.  
>"Lady?" Naruto asks in a freaked out voice.<br>"You're the subordinates from Akagi, right?" The old man speaks, his arms folded.  
>"S-Sir Jurochou!" Both Senta and Bunzou exclaim.<br>".. Who?" Naruto asks.  
>"Don't you know?" Senta asks.<br>"He is the head boss of Kaidou." Bunzou says. "He's Chakoku Jurochou."  
>"He's an old acquaintance." Tsunade says. "I just met him in this town by coincidence."<br>"You are Bunzou and Senta, right?" Jurochou inquires. "Good timing. I need to speak to you two."  
>We go back to the Fukumaru Inn, where we're all staying. After some talk from Jurochou, the four of us were shocked.<br>"WHHHHAAAAAAAATTTT?"  
>"My debt for Akagi, right? I paid it back a year ago." Tsunade says.<br>"Eh heh.. d-did you?" Shizune asks.  
>"I paid it back last year when I was near Akagi." Tsunade explains. "Did you forget?"<br>"I-I'm sorry!" Shizune says.  
>"Hey. This is a clan notice that I got from Akagi." Jurochou says, getting a small letter. I stare across the table curiously at him. "I'll just read the part that is for you guys." He says while unfolding it. "<em>To Senta and Bunzou, the debt has been paid off, so return home. -Akagi Shuuhoro.<em>"  
>"See?" Tsunade says. We all laugh nervously.<p>

"What the heck. I regret getting all worked up over this, dattebayo." Naruto says. We walk outside, it was now sunset, the time must have passed quickly with that ruckus we caused. We had to say good bye to Senta, Bunzou and Juroshou, so we walked with them to the entrance of the town.  
>"Thank you very much. Now we can go back home in peace." Senta says gracefully to us.<br>"Well, good luck." Naruto says.  
>"You, too, Naruto-san! Please be careful." Bunzou says.<p>

I walk with Naruto, Shizune and Tsunade. I had already told Kurenai-sensei and the others I was going to go back home with Naruto-kun, after all, we have so much to catch up on. I already have my backpack, and I was wearing my normal ninja attire – my training suit needs a wash.  
>"By the way, why were you so serious about getting that bag back when there's no money in it?" Naruto asks.<br>"That's because that bag is full of IOU's, and if the villagers find out about that, they may reconsider appointing Tsunade-sama as the Hokage." Shizune explains.  
>"You worry too much." Tsunade laughs. "Hokage and debt have no relation."<br>"Besides, you said the debt was paid back. There's nothing to worry about." Naruto says.  
>"Only the Akagi family's.." Shizune says.<br>"Don't worry. Don't worry." Tsunade says. Tonton said something, but I couldn't understand her. "What? Forgot something?" Tsunade asks. My eyes widen.  
>"Naruto! She can speak pig!" I exclaim. Naruto sweatdrops.<br>"Don't be ridiculous Tonton, we're not forgetting anything." Tsunade says.

…

About 30 minutes later Naruto got that look like he had just realized something.  
>"What's wrong Naruto?" I ask.<br>He began laughing, getting all our attention.  
>"What's so funny?" Tsunade asks.<br>"We did forget something.." Naruto says.  
>"What?" Shizune asks.<br>"Pervy sage."  
>Everyone paused with blue lines hovering over their heads. "Well." Tsunade laughs. ".. I'm not going back, one of you can."<br>"He's probably still in the hot spring.." Shizune mentions.  
>"Then I'm not going!" I exclaim. We all look at Naruto with a smirk.<br>"Wha? Why me?" Naruto questions.  
>"Because you're the youngest. Now get going." Tsunade says. Naruto groans loudly then starts running back. "You too, Setsuki."<br>"Wha? Why me?" I question.  
>"Because you're younger than us, and besides Naruto can't go off all alone." Tsunade giggles. I frown then chase after Naruto.<p>

"WHADDAYA MEAN YOU'S ALL LEFT WITHOUT ME?" Jiraiya scowls.  
>"WE LEFT WITHOUT YOU DATTEBAYO!" Naruto shouts back. Jiraiya looks at me and appears to calm down the slightest big.<br>"Who's she?"  
>"I'm Kuromizu Setsuki! Naruto-kun's best friend!" I say, giving him a bow – after all, he's to be respected, he's one of the legendary Sannin.<br>Jiraiya-sama stares at me for a moment, rubbing his finger against his chin in thought. I blink.  
>"Don't even think about it, Pervy Sage!" Naruto growls.<br>"Ahahah. No! I'm not like that Naruto! And I wish you'd stop calling me that in front of others." Jiraiya-sama groans.  
>"Think about what?" I ask.<br>"You don't want to know." Naruto says. "But we best get moving, dattebayo!"  
>"Onward!" I exclaim, pointing to the door, then seconds later, bolting out.<p>

We caught up to Tsunade and Shizune, and we got back to the Leaf about midnight, so we all went straight home, I managed to sneak in the house without waking Takashi up.. maybe I'm stealthier than I thought! I lay on the bed and pretty much fall asleep a minute later.

The next morning I woke up early – as usual – and have a quick shower and dress into my normal ninja attire, I still need to wash the training suit.  
>I look at the time – 8am. "I wonder what time visiting hours commence at the hospital.." I think for a moment, then decide to go for a walk – but not before breakfast.<br>"Morning Uncle Takashi." I say, approaching his plate on the table.  
>"Morning Setsu-KI!" He faces me with shock.<br>"Hm?" I look at him, reaching for that toast on his plate.  
>"When did you get back?" He questions.<br>"About midnight." I reply, picking the toast up.  
>"I thought you weren't returning until later on today..?" He mentions. I pull out the chair and sit down, and take a bite of the toast.<br>"Nah, there was a change of plan." I swallow the mouthful. "You see, I found Naruto-kun at the town as well, so I wanted to come home with him." I say.  
>"I see... you be careful around that lad. You never know when he might lose contro-"<br>"Uncle.. why do you hate Naruto-kun so much?" I ask.  
>"Well! Look at him Setsuki! He's dangerous! He has a Tailed-Beast sealed inside of him!" Takashi exclaims. By now I was halfway through the toast.<br>"Naruto-kun's a good friend! Why can't you learn to like him? He's never hurt me, or anyone! How can he be dangerous!" I question, standing up. He backs off a little.  
>"Setsuki, I didn't say to stop being friends.. I only said you need to be careful." He says. I look away.<br>"By the way... Kabuto's alive." I say, still not looking at him.  
>"... WHAT? When? H-how did you find out!" He questions, walking up to me.<br>"Why does it matter? Kabuto's more dangerous than Naruto-kun!" I say, looking him in the eye, feeling a tear roll down my cheek. He gives a slight confused look. "Kabuto tried to kill me!"  
>"What..! When?"<br>"Back at the Chuunin exams! When we were under attack! I.." I stop talking to take in a breath, trying to not get worked up. "I was trying to take my friend to the hospital when he came out of no where and tried to kill me!"  
>"He wouldn't have known it was yo-"<br>"He did know it was me! He called me by my name and tried to kill me!" I exclaim.  
>"Why.. why are you only telling me this now?" He asks. I wipe the few tears from my face and rub my eyes with a sniffle. "Why couldn't you tell me this DURING THE ACTUAL EXAMS?" I cringe slightly. "ANSWER ME!"<br>"Because..."  
>"WHY?"<br>"BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT YOU WORRYING OVER IT!" I shout at him, then run out the door, not wanting to be there any longer.  
>"Setsu- SETSUKI!"<br>I kept running, just.. ran.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

I end up at the forest, past the training grounds. I stand against a tree biting my lip and slide down the tree, hug my knees and cry into them.  
>'<em>Why can't he just learn that Naruto's not dangerous? And why did Kabuto try to kill me! It's not fair!<em>'

"Setsuki-san?"  
>I tense up, but don't lift my head, I try and quieten my crying down.<br>"What is it? What happened..?"  
>I sniffle quietly and lift my head and wipe my eyes. "I-it's my uncle.." I croak, then clear my throat.<br>"... What about him...?" He gasps slightly. "He didn't... pass on... did he?"  
>I shake my head and sniffle again. "He... he's just.. he doesn't understand!"<br>"Setsuki."  
>I look up at him.<br>"You need to calm down.. then tell me what happened.."  
>I wipe my eyes again and take a deep breath, then begin explaining everything. "... What should I do.. Neji-kun?" I ask.<br>Neji gives a quiet sigh. ".. Give him some time to cool down.. then talk about it.."  
>I shake my head. "That wont help.. he wont listen.." I sigh sadly.<br>".. Perhaps Naruto can help..?"  
>".. Naruto?" I blink a few times.<br>"I heard he was looking for you anyway... come on, we'll go find him." He says. I nod and stand up, wiping the rest of my tears away, then walk beside Neji back to the village.

I stared at the ground the whole way, until Neji finally came to a stop. "Naruto." He says in a slight hissy tone.  
>"Neh?" Naruto turns and faces us. "You! What do you want?" Naruto asks. Neji tilts his head towards me. "Setsuki! Are you alright?" He questions, putting a hand on my shoulder, concerned.<br>"I.. wanna talk to you." I say slowly.  
>".. I will leave now." Neji says, then begins walking away.<br>"Neji-kun." I say, he stops and turns his head slightly.  
>"Hn?"<br>"Arigato." I say. Neji gives a slight nod and jumps away.  
>"So, what's wrong?" Naruto asks.<br>"It's Uncle Takashi..." I reply.  
>".. Was he saying bad stuff about me, again?" He asks. I nod. "You know, you shouldn't let that get to you, I've been called a monster and such since I was born. It doesn't really make a difference."<br>"Y-yes but.. I don't like Uncle Takashi saying that kind of stuff about you! You're my best friend, Naruto-kun!" I exclaim.  
>"Yeah but.. " He stops to sigh. "Don't worry about it, okay? Oh yeah! There's something I have to tell you.."<br>"W.. what is it?" I ask. Naruto's eyes wonder, like he was thinking on how to word his sentence.  
>"It's your cousin... Kabuto.." He says. My eyes widen.<br>"What about Kabuto! Tell me!" I say, grabbing his jacket.  
>"Calm down! It was when we were bringing old lady Tsunade back. We were encountered by Orochimaru and Kabuto, and we had to fight them. And well.. I tried out my new technique on Kabuto because I had to protect Tsunade. I wasn't thinking straight at the time, and I didn't hold back. But he somehow survived.. and they got away." He explains.<br>"I see.. I'm sorry Naruto-kun." I say.  
>"For what?" He asks, scratching his head.<br>"For the trouble that Kabuto caused." I say. Naruto puts his hand on my shoulder.  
>"It's alright." He says. "It's not your fault dattebayo."<br>".. but that's another thing Takashi is angry with me about. I didn't tell him Kabuto was alive during the Chuunin Exams because I didn't want him worrying over him. I mean, knowing Takashi, if he knew Kabuto was working for Orochimaru now, he'll go and seek Orochimaru to try and save Kabuto.." I say.  
>"But doesn't he know Orochimaru's like really strong?" He asks.<br>"It wouldn't matter.. he'd die trying.. that's the type he is.. and I don't want to lose Takashi as well.." I say. "I-I don't want to be selfish but.."  
>"Yeah, I can understand. If I had family I'd want to keep them too." He says, then suddenly he puts his arms around me. I blink. "But I don't want you going out after him either.."<br>"N-Naruto-kun.."  
>"You're like family to me, dattebayo. I don't wanna lose you." He says. I look down, but hug back. Naruto was right, Naruto, to me, feels like the brother I never had.<br>".. I understand Naruto. I really do." I say. Naruto lets go and stands up straight again. I let go as well. "But... Kabuto's family as well.. I'm sure he's just hostile because he's working for Orochimaru."  
>"Yeah, I guess so." Naruto says. "... Oh oh! Guess what!"<br>"What?"  
>"Old lady Tsunade helped Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei to recover, and she was just about to check up on Bushy Brows' injuries before I left!" Naruto exclaims.<br>"Left? What'd you leave for?" I ask.  
>"Er, old lady Tsunade reminded me of a meeting with Iruka-sensei I had! We had ramen, but he turned up late, dattebayo!" He complains. I smile slightly.<br>"Should we go check on Lee-san?" I ask, wanting to.  
>"Yeah! Come on!" Naruto says, grabbing my wrist, and we begin running to the hospital.<p>

"Is Bushy Brows in rehabilitation?" Naruto asks the reception lady.  
>"Hm?"<br>"Rock Lee." I say.  
>"Ah. Just let me have a look." She says, then flips through the little book she has on the desk on front of her. "Hmm... no I'm afraid he hasn't shown up yet." She says.<br>"He's not there? It's not like Bushy Brows to be late for something." Naruto mentions.  
>"Do you think something may have happened?" I ask.<br>"I doubt it. I mean, what could've happened within an hour?" He asks. I give him a look. "Oh.. anything.."  
>"Lets go find Gai-sensei!" I say. "Gai-sensei would know where Lee-san is!"<br>"Good idea!" Naruto says. "... But where would he be?"  
>I shrug. Naruto facepalms.<p> 


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

I inhale deeply. Naruto's eyes widen and he covers his ears. "GAI-SENSEI!" I bellow into the air. I take a deep breath afterwards.  
>"Geez! You're so loud, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaims.<br>"Heh.. I only picked it up from you, 'dattebayo'." I say with a giggle. He rolls his eyes. I inhale again, and just as I go to shout, Naruto slaps his hand over my mouth.  
>"Shush! I have a better idea!" He says. I blink. He removes his hand to perform a hand sign. "Multi Shadow Clone jutsu!" He says, creating possibly over 50 clones, and they all scatter. I shrug.<br>"Well that could work too.. c'mon we may as well go look ourselves!" I say, then begin running in a direction.  
>"Wha- SETSUKI! WAIT UP!" Naruto calls, chasing after me.<p>

I ended up being too fast for Naruto, and getting way ahead of him, losing him. I went around searching the entire day, unable to find him. I was close to giving up when I thought of one place I haven't been yet, the Academy. The sun was setting and close to fully disappearing, but I told myself it would be the last place I look before I go home.

I searched all the floors, until eventually I end up on the top floor- the roof. I look around, then I hear voices and pause.  
>"-lained that effort alone couldn't beat a genius, you said to me that I'm a genius of hard work.. that's when you taught me the importance of believing in myself..."<br>'_That's Lee-san's voice!_' I was about to step out from behind the column when I heard quiet sobbing, I remained hiding behind the column, listening.  
>"But.. this time, even if I put forth effort," Lee's voice turned into a cry. "or even if I believe in myself, Gai-sensei, please tell me! Why am I the only one who has turned out like this? What should I do? Please tell me!"<br>I didn't know what to think, why does Lee-san sound so upset and frustrated? What on earth happened? I watch as the last of the sun disappeared over the mountain, leaving the village darker.  
>There was a dead silence, only the sobs and sulks of Lee could be heard.<br>"Lee." It was Gai-sensei's voice. "If you want to release yourself from your suffering, you must prepare yourself!"  
>"..! … T.. to prepare for me giving up on my dream?" Lee inquires.<br>"If you lose your dream, you'll suffer even more than you are now. You're an idiot who won't be able to live if he loses his way of the ninja." Gai-sensei replies. "I am as well... Go through with the surgery, Lee!"  
>Lee gasps, and goes silent. '<em>Surgery..?<em>'  
>"... A short while ago, I was reminiscing about the time when you and Kakashi-sensei were fighting with rock, paper, scissors.. back then, he said that luck is also part of one's strength.. the success rate of the surgery is also 50%, but this is different from rock, paper, scissors!"<br>"Do you remember what happened after that, Lee?"  
>"... That's right.. that was when you taught me my rule."<br>"Your surgery that you'll put forth all your effort into will definitely succeed. I'm sure you'll call forth the future. If per chance- no, if it fails, which is a one in a million chance, then... I'll die alongside you." Gai-sensei says.  
>My eyes widen, silence filled the area. '<em>Wh.. what does he mean by that?<em>'  
>"Ever since I met you, my way of the ninja was to train you to be an excellent ninja." Gai-sensei says. "That's a promise."<br>"... Gai-sensei!" Lee cries loudly, then his crying became muffled, like he was hugging Gai-sensei, crying into him.  
>A million thoughts raced through my mind.<br>"Now, let's go, Lee!" Gai-sensei says.  
>"Yes sir!" Lee whines. I look at the ground for a moment, then when I heard footsteps coming my way, I quickly stand up straight, and try and forget everything I just heard.<br>"Mm? Setsuki?" Gai-sensei's voice came. I blink at look at him. Lee gasps slightly and wipes his eyes a few times and stands up straight.  
>"E-er hi Gai-sensei!" I say. "And Lee-san!"<br>"Hi Setsuki-san.." Lee says, calming himself down. Gai-sensei was giving me a thoughtful expression.  
>"Setsuki, how long have you been here?" Gai-sensei asks.<br>"Hm? Oh I just got up here." I lie.  
>"What brings you here of all places? Particularly at this hour?"<br>"Er.." I look down. "Just.. trying to clear my head. That's all." I reply, looking up again. Gai-sensei tilts his head.  
>"Clear your head..? What happened?" Lee inquires. I shake my head.<br>"Oh it's not that important. Just something Uncle Takashi said, I'm just thinking about it.. I guess my feet must've brought me up here." I say, then place a hand on the back of my head and laugh nervously, hiding a small wince for my head still hurts.  
>"Hm." Gai-sensei replies with a nod. "Very well. Don't stay up too late, you don't want to be tired tomorrow. It's the announcement of the fifth Hokage."<br>"Huh? Oh! Right! I completely forgot!" I exclaim. Gai-sensei gives a slight chuckle and leans forward to ruffle my hair.  
>"Well I'll be seeing you, around." Gai-sensei says. "Good night Setsuki." He says, then begins walking with a small beckon to Lee.<br>"Hai." I reply. Lee steps forth, I notice now, the dark bags under his eyes, and the dried up tears on his cheeks.  
>"Good night.. Setsuki-san.." Lee says, nodding his head slowly like a bow. I nod.<br>"G'night Lee-san." I reply, then watch as they walk off. I look at the ground again for a minute before heading home.

I open the door slowly, and as expected Takashi was sitting on my bed, waiting for me. I look down.  
>"About time you got home." He says. "Look. I apologize preposterous attitude this morning.. it wasn't right for me to shout at you like that."<br>"... It's alright." I say, I'm not the person who holds grudges. Takashi stands up and walks up to me.  
>"I think it was just hearing my son's name that got me all worked up.." He says. I nod a few times.<br>"Hai. I know, it's always been like that.." I mention. He smiles slightly and puts his arms around me comfortingly.  
>".. Lets have an early night, hm? Tomorrow's the fifth's ceremony." Takashi says.<br>"Hai." I reply. He smiles and with a nod, walks out.  
>"Night, Setsuki." He calls.<br>"Night." I reply, shutting the door. I change to my singlet and boxer shorts and jump into bed, falling asleep a while after.

As I walk through the corridors of the hospital, I kept getting this sensation that someone was in deep trouble, no matter how much I try to ignore it, it stays. I look around for Lee-san's room, I want to visit him.  
>"LEE!"<br>My eyes widen. "Gai-sensei?" I inquire, then run in that direction. Lee's hospital door was open, I peer in, Tsunade was leaning over Lee's bed, Lee was on his stomach, wires attached all over him. I stand in the door frame watching in confusion. I look at the heart monitor, it was keeping a steady pace... but it was slowly decreasing. "W.. what's going on?" I ask. Shizune, Gai-sensei and Tsunade were the only ones aside from Lee in that room.  
>"Will he be alright?" Gai-sensei questions.<br>"I'm doing everything I can!" Tsunade replies, her hands glowing green from the mystical palm jutsu, and sweat drips from her forehead.  
>"Gai-sensei?" I ask, but he paid no attention, his eyes were clearly focused on Lee.<br>"Just be patient. She knows what she's doing." Shizune says to Gai-sensei. Gai-sensei clears his throat, both hands clenched into fists from stress.  
>Suddenly Lee coughs up a lot of blood, and the heart monitor displays a straight line, and gives out a long, monotoned beep sound.<br>"LEE!" Gai-sensei says. Tsunade gasps.  
>"No! Don't die on me!" Tsunade says. Suddenly Gai-sensei's voice from last night came through my head. '<em>If per chance- no, if it fails, which is a one in a million chance, then... I'll die alongside you.<em>'  
>"Argh!" Gai-sensei coughs and grips his chest right where the heart is.<br>"Gai-san!" Shizune exclaims. Gai-sensei showed pain in his expression, his eyes wide and his teeth clenched hard. He falls to his knees. My eyes widen in shock. Gai-sensei coughs and spits out endless blood. It just kept falling from his mouth, and he falls over motionless.  
>"Gai!" Shizune exclaims, kneeling down to him, she puts her hand over his chest, then gasps.<br>"What is it Shizune!" Tsunade questions.  
>"H-his heart... it.. exploded.." Shizune replies with utmost shock.<br>"WHAT?" I question, but still no one paid attention to me.  
>"Lee's heart only stopped! What's going on!" Tsunade questions.<br>"LEE! GAI-SENSEI!" I bawl.  
>"Setsuki! You shouldn't look!" Naruto's voice came from behind me, then arms wrap around me from behind and begins pulling me away from the door.<br>"No!" I cry, feeling my eyes stinging trying to hold back tears, but they escaped and ran down my cheeks regardless of how hard I try. The further Naruto dragged me away, the darker the corridor became, then Lee's room door closes on it's own. Everything was just getting darker.  
>"Setsuki!" Naruto calls.<br>"It's too late! No I want to go back! I want to save them!" I exclaim.  
>"Setsuki come on!" Naruto calls again. I turn around in Naruto's grip, tilting my head down the slightest bit to look into his face.<br>"Naruto! This isn't happening! I can't bear this!" I cry, then throw my head in his shoulder crying. Naruto rubs my back.  
>"It's okay. Just.. come on." He says. I couldn't answer, my cries were too extreme. Suddenly Naruto lets go of me and puts his hands on my shoulders and begins shaking me back and forth. "Setsuki! Snap out of it!"<br>I open my eyes looking into his face again. "Why.. why don't you care?" I question.  
>"Care about what?" He asks.<br>"Lee! Gai-sensei!" I exclaim, not understanding why he doesn't know when he was just there. Naruto shakes his head.  
>"You're crying. Why are you crying?" He asks. "Come on." He says, still shaking me.<p>

I open my eyes slightly, and I felt my body being shaken back and forth. My eyes snap open.  
>"Finally!"<br>I see Naruto's face.  
>"Naruto-kun.."<br>"Man, I thought you'd never wake up. You're even crying. Whatever that dream was, it must have been extreme." He says, wiping the tears from my cheeks with his sleeve. "Something about Bushy Brows and Bushy Brows-sensei.. considering the shouting about them."  
>"Yeah..." I reply quietly, then rub my eyes. Naruto tilts his head to the side.<br>"You don't look so well, dattebayo." He says.  
>"I'll be alright." I reply, then yawn, then I suddenly realize something. "He let you in!" I question, staring wide-eyed at him. Naruto scratches the back of his head.<br>"Yeah.. he told me to come and get you out of bed." He says.  
>"R-really? That's not like Uncle Takashi." I mention.<br>"Yeah, he was acting kinda strange, believe it." He says, pointing to my door with his thumb.  
>"I don't believe it!" I exclaim, throwing the blankets off my bed. "This I gotta see! He has to be sick! He's just gotta be!" I jump up from my bed, and run to the kitchen, seeing Takashi sitting at the table, eating away at his toast, contently.<br>"Morning Setsuki." He says. I blink a few times, then look at the front door, then Naruto-kun, then back at Takashi all with a confused look.  
>"B-but, what the..?"<br>"What's wrong?" Takashi asks.  
>"You let Naruto-kun in without me?" I question.<br>"... Yes." Takashi replies, taking hold of the handle of his cup of coffee, and looking into it. I blink confused. ".. I'll just say I've been thinking about what you said yesterday."  
>"Ohhhhhhh." I reply, then smile. "So you like Naruto-kun now!" I question, my smile getting bigger.<br>"... Well, considering he hasn't hurt you, yet, I don't see why he can't be welcome here." Takashi says. I smile more, then hug Naruto randomly.  
>"Gah! T-too tight!" Naruto gasps. I let go and give him a thumbs up. He sweatdrops.<br>"Now I suggest you two get ready." Takashi says. We both look at him with blank expressions. ".. It's the fifth's ceremony!"  
>"Oh yeah! We gotta be there to see old lady Tsunade become Hokage, believe it!" Naruto says, smiling. I nod at him.<br>"HAI!" I shout, then run to my room, energised by the morning time.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

I get dressed as quick as I can, into my original ninja attire, because my training suit still needs to be washed.. man I'm getting forgetful. I then run to the bathroom, brush my hair roughly and tie my Konoha headband around my forehead like usual, then run down the hallway, almost tripping over my own feet as I get to the end of it.  
>"I'm ready!" I announce. They both look at me, Takashi puts his cup down and sighs.<br>"Your shirt's inside out." He says. I look down, then sweatdrop.  
>"Setsuki.." Naruto sighs. "Even I'm not that bad, dattebayo."<br>"... Pfft." I poke my tongue out at him childishly. "Two seconds is all I need to fix i-"  
>"Two seconds just passed.." Takashi chimes. I frown, then take a few steps backwards down the hallway until I knew they can't see me, then quickly take my shirt off, flip it the right way out then put it back on, and walk out again. "Ready now?"<br>"Hai!" I exclaim, then head to the door, but then quickly realizing something. "But I'm hungry.."  
>"Ah you can always go get ramen for breakfast like you normally do." Takashi says.<br>"Yeeaaahh, like I normally do... lets go Naruto-kun!" I say, quickly reaching for his wrist then bolting out the door, dragging him.  
>"Gah! Setsuki! Slow down!" Naruto shouts.<br>"NO!" I exclaim, then run faster.

We arrive outside the Academy, looking up the top of the tallest part of the building, where Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama, Homaru-sama and Koharu-sama all stood. Tsunade-sama is wearing the Hokage hat.. the very hat of which I hope to see on Naruto-kun's head one day.

I look around, there aren't many people here. "Hey Naruto-kun." I say, looking around. There was no response. I look back the way we came, seeing if Uncle Takashi was coming. He wasn't. "Hey, hey Naruto-kun." I say again. Still no response. I pout then look to where Naruto was standing.. he was gone. "Naruto?" I ask, looking around for him. I fold my arms. "He ditched me!" I whine. I fold my arms with a pout while waiting for everyone in the village to arrive so the celebration can begin.

"SETSUKI-CHAN!"  
>I blink and turn my head back slowly. Daisuke was running towards me.. it was like slow motion, especially because of the fact his arms are spread in a hug gesture. I sidestep a second before he reaches me, but leave my foot there, tripping him over, making him faceplant into the ground.<br>"Haahahahaa." Susumu laughs, standing beside me. I jump.  
>"Wah! Don't scare me like that!" I gush at him. Susumu just smirks. Daisuke stands up with dirt all on his face, frowning.<br>"Heh, you look like shi-"  
>"Shh! They're starting to announce something!" I exclaim, looking up at the building. Tsunade steps forward to the railing, and takes the hat off.<br>"Starting today, I will govern the Village of Konoha! I am the Fifth Hokage!" Tsunade announces. The crowd cheers loudly.

About a week passed from that day, and there I was walking around with Lee. No particular reason, I just found him walking around pondering, so I decided to join him.. though.. he was rather quiet, and he's been staring at the ground this whole time too, but he claims that everything is fine..  
>"... Er, hey! Lee! Wanna get some ramen?" I ask, giving him a huge smile, trying to be enthusiastic. Lee finally looks up at me and blinks.<br>".. Hai. That sounds nice.." He replies, giving a slight smile. I knew it wasn't good enough.. maybe something else. I got an idea.  
>"And I'll pay!" I exclaim.<br>"Are you sure?" He asks. I give him a thumbs up.  
>"Hai!" I exclaim, giving him a big smile. He smiles bigger and gives a nod, then looks ahead. '<em>Still not enough.. hmm... oh! I know!<em>' "And you can have as much ramen as you like!" I exclaim. He gives a small chuckle.  
>"You are very generous Setsuki-san!" He exclaims, smiling at me again. I grin. '<em>Yes! He's happy! Ramen always makes people happy!<em>' "Thank you."  
>"Don't mention it. Oh and afterwards... um... we could.." I pause, completely clueless. Lee looks at me, waiting for me to conclude my sentence. I laugh nervously and scratch the back of my head.<br>"I know what you are thinking, Setsuki-san." Lee says. I face him and tilt my head.  
>"Whaddaya mean?" I ask.<br>"Well. It is obvious what you are trying not to suggest so you do not hurt my feelings. But it is okay Setsuki-san!" He says. I remain clueless.  
>"Eh?"<br>Lee blinks.  
>"What are you talking about?" I ask.<br>"Why, training of course!" He exclaims, getting a fist of determination. I blink a few times.  
>"I never thought of that!" I say. Lee gags then faces me with shock.<br>"What? You did not consider such a vital thing?" He questions. I raise my hands up and wave them around defensively.  
>"I-I-I.. was distracted!" I exclaim.<br>"HOW COULD YOU BE DISTRACTED FROM TRAINING?" He questions, getting close to my face, making me sweat.  
>"E-errr b-by that!" I exclaim, pointing to the sky randomly.<br>"Huh?" He looks up curiously, then I use this small distraction to slide around him and stand a few feet away. "I do not see it..?"  
>"I know! It's distracting huh." I say. Lee tilts his head in confusion.<br>"Lee! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you."  
>We both turn our heads to the left and blink. "Tsunade?" I inquire with a blank expression. '<em>What could she possibly want with Lee-san?<em>'  
>"Yes..? What is it Tsunade-sama..?" Lee asks, turning to face her completely. I see him stand up straight from the corner of my eye, then quickly do the same.<br>With a rotation of her left shoulder, Tsunade gets a confident expression and begins to speak. "I can see that you are.. busy." She chuckles, looking between Lee and I. I just return a blank expression. "However, I would like to have a word with you, if that's alright..?" She inquires.  
>"Oh, sure." Lee replies with a full nod of his head.<br>"Can I come?" I ask, then sweatdrop. I need to think before I act more often. Tsunade looks at me pondering for a moment, creating an awkward silence. She then turns her attention back to Lee. "Er, sorry.. I get carried away.." I imply, holding my hands behind my back, and digging my toes into the footpath nervously.  
>"No that's alright. Hm, we wont be very long. If you wait here, I'll bring Lee back soon enough." Tsunade says. I quickly salute.<br>"Kay!" I exclaim, then plop down on the ground and cross my legs and sit my arms in my lap smiling up at them. Lee sweatdrops.  
>"I.. meant around here, not in the middle of the footpath." Tsunade says with a small sigh while shaking her head. I blink then shuffle over the tiniest bit.<br>"This better?" I ask. Tsunade had that look Takashi has when he wants to hit me over the back of the head. I remain quiet and shuffle over a few inches to the side of the footpath. "This...?"  
>"That will do." Tsunade groans. "Now! Come on Lee." Tsunade says in her tough voice, and begins walking off the way she came, her heels clicking against the ground loudly. Lee follows, pushing himself slightly to keep up, which made me frown slightly.<p>

With my boredom of waiting, I create a small puddle beneath me and use my chakra to rise water up and create strange and interesting water movements with it. Eventually, I felt like I shouldn't waste so much chakra, so I just sat there in the puddle, my elbow rests on my leg, and my hand holding my head up and my right eye closed and my other half open.  
>"Near your window? That's kinda creepy if you ask me."<br>I look up recognising that as Sakura-chan's voice. She was walking with Ino. "I know, personally it's bugging me. I mean, what if he sees me while I'm changing or something?" Ino replies. My head follows them as they walk past.  
>"That's when I come around and pound him! Cha!" Sakura replies, slamming her first into her other hand.<br>"Who?" I inquire.  
>"Ha! Nah I'm quite capable of taking care of it myself." Ino says with a smug tone, and brushes her fringe out of her face femininely.<br>"Who?" I ask, raising my voice, managing to capture their attention.  
>"... Why are you sitting in a puddle..?" Sakura inquires. I shrug.<br>"Coz I feel like it." I reply.  
>"... I'm not even going to comment." Sakura sighs.<br>"Hey, you're not wearing that pickle!" Ino exclaims.  
>"Pickle..?" I inquire.<br>"That hideous green thing." Ino says.  
>I pout. "It's not hideous! It's AWESOME!" I exclaim, standing up, then feeling my butt and back of my legs all wet. It actually made me feel like going swimming.<br>"Ha! Is that what you weirdos call awesome?" Ino scoffs, then laughs. I look at Sakura with an annoyed expression, she just rolls her eyes.  
>"I thought you didn't like Ino..?" I mention.<br>"Ugh, just because we're rivals doesn't mean we have to be bitter towards each other all the time!" Sakura exclaims.  
>"But.. but Naruto-kun and Sasuke-chan do!" I imply.<br>"They're boys!" Sakura shouts.  
>"So?" I question.<br>"Boys are douches." I hear behind me. My eyes widen from the scare and I turn around seeing that red-headed Inuzuka girl from the Chuunin Exams. Sakura frowns at the sight of her. I remain silent and stand behind Sakura. "I should know. I gotta put up with two losers all the time." She says, leaning to the side with a hand on her hip. Down beside her was her dog, of whom I have completely forgotten the name of. In fact, I can't even remember her name. I just remain silent to avoid the awkwardness. She looks at me. "What 'appened to you? Lost ya voice or somethin'?" She inquires.  
>"No.." I reply, awkwardly looking the other way.<br>"Ha! I'm scaring you aren't I?" She says, then cracks up laughing. Her dog joins in. Sakura face palms.  
>"Ugh! Your attitude reminds me of Kiba!" Ino gushes.<br>"Kiba? Well we _are_ from the same clan, and believe me, Kazumaru ain't that different either." She says. "What was you're name again?"  
>I let out a sigh of relief. At least I'm not the only one forgetting names. "I'm Kuromizu Setsuki!" I reply, extending my arm out with a thumbs up toward her, and giving a wink.<br>Her face loses color, and Sakura stares at me with horror. "You are a spitting image of Lee-san.." Sakura says. I grin goofily and scratch the back of my head.  
>"Well I'm Inuzuka Akakaze, and this is Shiro incase you had forgotten.. which it seems ya have." She says. I click my fingers.<br>"I knew thaaat!" I exclaim.  
>".. Well anyways, why were ya all complainin' 'bout boys?" Akakaze inquires, looking at Sakura.<br>"Well apparently Kiba has been watching Ino, peering in on her through her bedroom window!" Sakura exclaims. I gasp.  
>"I always knew there was something weird about him." I say.<br>"Weird? More like a total dumbass. Kiba's always bitchin' about how Akamaru is this, Akamaru is that wah wah wah!" Akakaze scoffs, then places a fist in her hand. "Shiro is the best ninken and there's no doubt about it!"  
>"Yeah!" I concur randomly. Akakaze smirks toward me, then faces Ino.<br>"Well I'll beat the crap outta that dork for ya mate." Akakaze says then all of a sudden, jumps off within a few seconds, her dog following quickly.  
>"Mate? She's a weird one I tell you." Ino says.<br>"She's always been weird, or didn't you notice that in the academy days?" Sakura replies.  
>"Yeah I know." Ino replies.<br>"Soo onto the next agenda, why were you sitting there, on the side of the footpath, on the ground, in a puddle..?" Sakura inquires.  
>"I was waiting. I still am waiting." I reply.<br>"For..? Be specific, you know I don't like it when you give pointless answers like that." Sakura says. I look around.  
>"Waitin' for Lee-san." I reply with a small smile. Ino and Sakura smirk and look at each other, then nod. I show a blank expression. They both face me, suddenly all happy-like. It honestly freaked me out a little.<br>"Soo, you and Lee huh?" Ino chimes. I could already tell from last time where this was going. I had to think of a way out of this situation.. fast.  
>"OH MY GOD IT'S BACK!" I shout, looking up at the sky with wide eyes and a purely shocked expression.<br>"Huh?" They both look up and I quickly look left then right then left again, and then take off as fast as I could. Next task; find Lee.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Running as fast as my legs could carry me, and no idea where I would find Lee, I kept running down random streets, until I began to run out of breath.

I was stopped near the Yamanaka flower shop by none other than Daisuke and Susumu. Judging by their expressions, they were up to something. Daisuke waves to me, so naturally I walk over to them.  
>"What's up guys?" I ask. Daisuke clears his throat while Susumu rolls his eyes.<br>"Setsuki-chan." Daisuke says, getting that grin that I don't trust.  
>"Yesss?" I reply, quickly observing the surroundings for an escape route in case he tries something. He then holds out a red rose and winks at me. My eyes widen at the rose and I take a step back.<br>"Won't you come on a da-"  
>"WAHHHHHH!" I bolt away screaming.<br>"What's up with that?" Daisuke inquires, sweatdropping.  
>"I told you it wouldn't work." Susumu replies smugly.<br>"But why not?"  
>"She's scared of plants with thorns. That includes roses." Susumu replies. Daisuke growls.<br>"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT EARLIER!" Daisuke shouts, grabbing Susumu's shirt and violently shaking him back and forth.

I ran until I came by my house, then went inside, and slammed the door behind me and leaned against it panting. Takashi looks around the corner with a questioning look.  
>"Setsuki..?"<br>I kept breathing really fast, then I take a deep breath and slide down against the door to my butt. "Hi. Uncle." I pant slightly.  
>"What are you.. doing..?" He inquires, walking over to me.<br>"DAISUKE'S TRYING TO KILL ME AGAIN!" I shout, making him jump. He then sweatdrops.  
>"What did he do now..? Get another fake spider?"<br>"SPIDER? WHERE?" I panic, looking around frantically.  
>"... Th-"<br>"AHH!" I jump. Takashi frowns at me.  
>"Se-"<br>"WHERE?"  
>"SHUT UP!"<br>I blink and look back at him.  
>"Ugh... tell me without freaking out."<br>"Tell you what?" I ask with a blank expression. He folds his arms. "... OHHH Daisuke! Yeah! He had a flower! He was going to kill me with it!"  
>Takashi sweatdrops massively, and his fringe covers his eyes. "Sometimes I wish we weren't related..." He mumbles.<br>"Huh?" I stand up.  
>"Don't worry." He sighs. "Come on, lets have some coffe- er, juice and-"<br>"I want coffee!" I exclaim with a big smile. I've never tasted it before, and he drinks it all the time, so it must be good!  
>"No! .. No. No coffee."<br>"Why?"  
>"You'll be bouncing off the walls if you do!" He says, looking over his shoulder at me.<br>"... So..?" I inquire. "What's wrong with that?"  
>His silence was enough to tell me to shut up, so I follow him quietly into the kitchen. That's when I notice some chocolate sitting on the bench, and the biggest grin spread across my face.<br>"I love you uncle!" I chirp, grabbing it.  
>"Hm?" He turns around and frowns. "Setsuki. That was for our guests." Takashi says as I take the biggest bite I could possibly take out of it.<br>"Gwasts?" I spit out, trying to chew. "Ot gwasts?"  
>"Ones that are coming in precisely 10 minutes." He says.<br>"OT GWASTS?"  
>"Old family friends." He says. My eye twitches. '<em>It had better not be <em>_her__.._' Her being that woman that I despise, she lives all the way in Kumogakure with her husband, and her annoying son, in fact, I may hate her son more than her.. they consider themselves part of our family – the knowledge I have of how our families met, is that mum and Uncle Takashi both went on a field trip as children during college, and they met up with another college, and well.. mum and _her_ became best friends, Uncle Takashi somewhat got along with her as well. But when they met me the first time, I could tell I didn't like her, just by her attitude.. We are Yakushi's and they are Saitou's. Completely different.. and yet, they consider themselves family. Ugh how I hate them.  
>I swallow what was left in my mouth and put the chocolate down. "Is it... them..?" I ask.<br>"Who?"  
>"S-Saitou's?" I inquire. Takashi gives a nod.<br>"Yes. It is them. And this time, I want you to get along. I know you don't like Lady Saitou much, but you could at least get along with Hiromasa-kun this time. I hear he wants to become a ninja! You could help him there." He says.  
>I hold back a laugh. Hiromasa is their son. Last time I saw him I thought he was a baby elephant – he was over weight, and the way he eats, it kind of reminds me of that Akimichi guy with the chips, only bigger.<br>"And don't you dare me insolent this time." Takashi warns.  
>"I gotta go find Lee!" I exclaim.<br>"No, they can wait. I was going to send someone out to find you soon anyway." He says.  
>"But-"<br>"AND NO BUTS!"  
>I pout and droop to my room. Only to slide the window open and slip my leg out.<br>"Oh and one more thing." Takashi's voice echoes through the hallway, followed by footsteps. I quickly pull my leg back in and slide down to a sitting position on my bed, with my legs crossed, pretending to be mediating. Takashi pokes his head in through my door. "They're staying for a week. Hiromasa will be sleeping in here, and the other two can have the spare bedroom." Takashi says, then leaves again. I die a little inside.  
>"I need to bug Tsunade-sama for a mission.." I grumble, then spark up. "Yosh!" I jump out the window and run off.<p>

That's when I saw Lee-san walking around on his crutch looking around for something. I was about to run over when suddenly someone grabs my wrist, stopping me. I turn my head back – Daisuke.I give him a suspicious look and inspect both his hands for that deadly flower.  
>"Setsuki-chan! I've.. been looking.. everywhere!" Daisuke pants.<br>"Where's Susumu-kun?" I inquire.  
>"I ditch- er, he couldn't keep up! But, I found something that you might like.." He says, getting that same grin as before. I go to take my hand back but he had a firm grip. It made me grimace slightly. He then pulls out a heart-shaped box, colored magenta with a violet-colored ribbon and bow. I frown at it. I hate purple – it reminds me of my sister when she used to tease me.. My sister, Kaori, had shiny silver hair just like mum, with mauve-colored strips in her hair, and she used to wear the most ridiculous purple clothing ever. I got my blue hair and eyes from my dad.<br>"Ew! Purple!" I exclaim, grimacing at the box.  
>"It's.. chocolate.." Daisuke says.<br>"Purple chocolate? EWWWW!" I gush. "Grosss!" I turn around and begin speed walking away, towards Lee. I then rush and stand behind him, putting my hand on his shoulder, peering over at Daisuke from behind him. Lee kinda froze on the spot.  
>"There you are Setsuki... but.. what are you doing?" Lee inquires, turning his head back to look at me.<br>"Purple things are usually poisonous.." I mumble. My eyes widen. "LEEEEEEEE HE'S TRYING TO POISON ME!"  
>"What?" Lee gushes then looks at Daisuke. "How could you do such a thing! What did Setsuki-san ever do to you!"<br>"I-I er no! That's not what I-"  
>"SHE IS YOUR TEAMMATE! YOUR COMRADE!"<br>"B-"  
>"THAT IS NOT NICE!"<br>I like Lee a lot more now, at least he stands up for me, I wish Lee was my teammate, at least he wouldn't try and first kill me with a flower then try and poison me. I stand closer to Lee without really noticing that my chest was only an inch from his back. I lean my head forward beside Lee's, and stick my tongue out at him.  
>"I-"<br>"I WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING TO TENTEN OR NEJI-KUN!" Lee shouts.  
>"I GET I-"<br>"AND I WOULD DEFINITELY NOT DO THAT TO GAI-SENSEI!" Lee almost screams, then glares at Daisuke. Daisuke returns a glare, and the tension was quickly building.  
>"I GET IT! AND YOU ARE JUST A SLICK BASTARD!" Daisuke shouts. Lee twitches his head back.<br>"Slick ba- what do you mean by that?" Lee growls.  
>"You're trying to steal my girlfriend!" Daisuke shouts. I blink.<br>"Girlfriend..?" Lee questions, then looks at me with a slight gasp. "N-no no! I am not!"  
>"YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!" I question, stepping out from behind Lee, now intrigued. Daisuke frowns. I run over and grab his arm. "You should give those ch- wait they're poisoned.. and don't give her the flower! Try and um.. oh! You must give her a romantic date!" I exclaim. Lee waddles over.<br>"And spread rose petals on the floor!" Lee suggests. I smile contently at the idea.  
>"And lit with candles!" I say.<br>"Under the stars!" Lee says. I was getting all dreamy just of the thought of that.  
>"At night!" I say. They look at me.<br>"Stars only come out at night Setsuki.." Lee mentions.  
>"Beside a lake!" I say. Lee's jaw dropped slightly.<br>"Where the moon reflects majestically off the water's surface!" Lee says. I look him in the eyes.  
>"With a fluffy rug to sit on!" I say. Lee began leaning toward me very slowly, interest in his eyes.<br>"And beautiful lotus flowers shining off the lake!" Lee says. I was leaning closer as well.  
>"Blue ones!" I exclaim.<br>"One of every color!" Lee says. Our noses were just an inch away.  
>"And cherry blossom trees surrounding the area!" I say.<br>"Cherry blossoms are so beautiful! Just like Sakura-chan!" Lee says, our noses now touching. I felt like I was getting emotional.  
>"And a beautiful lotus flower in her hair.." I say. Our eyes soften at each other.<br>"And a shining smile from him.." Lee says.  
>"ALLLLLLLLRIGHT! BREAK IT UP!" Daisuke shouts, snapping us out of our daze. My cheeks immediately began to burn up and Lee's face turned red like a tomato when we realized our foreheads were against each others and one hand on each other's cheeks. I immediately take a step backwards and Lee stands up straight looking the other way with wide eyes and his lips pressed tightly together to remain silent. Daisuke was giving a deadly glare to Lee and my cheeks just kept burning up. I didn't feel like saying anything anymore. "And you! You stay away from my girlfriend!" Daisuke snarls, clenching a fist.<br>"Where is your girlfriend?" I ask. Daisuke looks at me.  
>"Right in front of me, of course." He says. I blink then look around. Lee stares at me for a moment contemplating. He then clicks his fingers.<br>"Setsuki! You never told me you had a boyfriend!" Lee says. I blink.  
>"I don't." I say.<br>"Not yet." Daisuke says, raising his index finger. He then faces me and clears his throat again.  
>"Well, maybe one day..." I say, then feel my cheeks heat up and I look down shyly.<br>"Or, maybe today." Daisuke says, winking at me repeatedly.  
>"No not today. I don't think I'm up for that." I reply then step over to Lee. "Well lets go." I say, starting to walk. Lee nods and follows.<br>"What? You're just gonna leave m-"  
>"Ah shut up Romeo." Susumu's voice calls, followed by a gagging sound coming from Daisuke.<p>

".. Oh yes! Setsuki-san!" Lee suddenly blurts out. I look at him.  
>"I.. have not told you about.. the operation I must undertake." Lee says lowering his eyes a bit. I didn't want to say I had overheard about it, so I just pretend to know nothing.<br>"Operation..?" I inquire.  
>"To fix my arm and leg. Tsunade is a famous medical ninja. She is the only one who can repair my body." Lee says. I nod, understanding so far. "And the operation is in an hour..." He says.<br>'_If per chance- no, if it fails, which is a one in a million chance, then... I'll die alongside you._' I remain silent, slightly confused. "Oh... that is good news.." I reply.  
>Lee looks up for a moment then at me. "Are.. you alright?"<br>"Huh?" My eyes widen slightly. '_I'm making it obvious!_' "Oh I mean! It is great! You'll be a ninja again!" I exclaim with a big smile, and a thumbs up.  
>Lee smiles slightly. "Yes. And once it succeeds, I will bounce right back! Gai-sensei's words exactly!"<br>I smile. "Yeah! And we can spar again! I can't wait!" I exclaim. Lee gives off a shining smile – it's the happiest I've seen him since the incident.  
>"Oh, and Tsunade-sama asked to see you as well, Setsuki-san. She did not mention what it was though." He says. I get my hopes high.<br>"Maybe it's a week-long mission!" I exclaim.  
>"Week-long?" Lee inquires.<br>"Ugh, old family friends are coming. I don't like them."  
>"Why not..?"<br>"It's a long story..." I reply.  
>"I have ti-"<br>"No you don't! You have an operation to prepare for!" I exclaim. "Yosh! I'd best be off! I'll see ya later, if not sooner!" I call out while jumping away.  
>"Right, see ya Setsuki-san!" Lee calls, waving his arm.<p> 


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

"What did'ja wanna see me for, Tsunade?" I inquire, swinging my hips side to side slowly while standing on the spot in front of her desk. She didn't bother looking up from the text book un front of her.  
>"It's about Lee's operation, Setsuki. I figure, as his girlfriend, you might want to know about this." She says. My cheeks heat up slightly.<br>"O-oh, n-no Tsunade, I'm not.. his.. girl..friend.." I imply, moving my hands behind my back, fiddling my fingers.  
>Tsunade lifts her eyes and stares at me without blinking for about 5 seconds before looking back at her text book. She then blinks. "Well this certainly changes things. Erm.." She sits up straight and rubs the back of her neck.<br>"... But carry on~" I chime, giving a small smile. Tsunade gives a look to Shizune standing beside her desk. Shizune nods, then Tsunade looks back at me, seriousness in her eyes. '_This better not be an hour long lecture.._'  
>"Well.. I just want you to know, that even if I do succeed.. there is still a chance Lee might not make it.. he still has a chance of dying." Tsunade says. I tense up. Tsunade lowers her eyes and leans over her desk again, looking at her text book. "It is a 58% chance this operation will succeed. If it were to fail. He will die."<br>'_58 PERCENT? THAT'S BARELY OVER 50-50!_'  
>"The rest of Team Gai have been informed of this information. You seemed to be a close friend of his too, so that is why I have told you this." Tsunade says.<br>"I understand..." I reply, hiding my great shock.  
>"I know it's hard. It's hard for me as well. His operation will commence in 40 minutes. That is all." She says. I give a nod and turn around and begin walking toward the door.<p>

Knowing this earlier would have been nice.. but I guess, it's none of my business, right?  
>"Hey! Hey Setsuki-chan!"<br>"Not now Daisuke." I groan, continuing to walk.  
>"It's gotten pretty windy hasn't it..?" He says.<br>"... Huh?" I look up and notice it is rather windy. I just shrug.  
>"What's wrong? You don't seem your peppy self." Daisuke says, poking my cheek. I pout and hit his arm softly.<br>"Don't." I grumble. He blinks, then gets a small smirk.  
>"Naww. Are you cranky?" He teases, poking my cheek again. I frown at him.<br>"Yeah.. because I'm totally gonna rip your head off and all that." I say. Daisuke gasps.  
>"YOU USED SARCASM!" He exclaims.<br>"No.. I was serious." I say. Daisuke sweatdrops. Just then I heard a crashing sound, like metal crashing against concrete. Daisuke looks around frantically. "Did you hear that?" I question.  
>"Yes! Where did it come from?" Daisuke inquires. I look up at the closest building to us – the hospital. I saw a white.. thing held up against the mesh, and being punched repeatedly.<br>"Daisuke! I think someone's in trouble!" I exclaim, pointing to it. Daisuke looks up.  
>"Come on!" He says, then starts running toward the building, I follow closely behind.<br>We run up the stairs, straight to the top floor, where I saw Sakura-chan standing with her toes pointed inwards, and her hands close to her chest. I know that stance as fear.  
>"Sakura-chan! What's wrong?" I question, looking at her full of concern. Sakura looks at me nibbling on her lower lip.<br>"It's.. Sasuke-kun and Naruto..." She says, then turns her head back towards that same white sheet I saw just before. Sasuke was punching it violently.  
>"And Naruto..?" I inquire, then realize that has to be Naruto getting punched. I go to run out when Sakura grabs my wrist.<br>"No don't! You'll get hurt!" She says. Just then Naruto kicks Sasuke backwards.  
>"Cut it out already!" Naruto shouts at him. They both then jump toward each other.<br>"What the hells gotten into them?" I question.  
>"This isn't a fight to the death is it?" Daisuke inquires.<br>"I hope not.." Sakura replies unsurely, making me anxious.  
>"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto calls, then before I knew it, Sasuke was surrounded completely. They all charge at once, Sasuke fended most of them off. "U.. zu.. ma..ki.." Four clones kick Sasuke into the air. Then one appears behind him and goes to kick. "BARRAGE!" Sasuke manages to turn around and block just in time.<br>"BLAZING FIREBALL JUTSU!" Sasuke shouts, blowing out a large fireball. It surrounded basically the entire roof, we were forced to stand back. All the sheets and anything else burned to a crisp.  
>"Naruto!" I call. As soon as the flames died down, I could see Naruto and a clone standing beside each other, one creating some sort of blue orb in his hand. "What is that?"<br>"I don't know.. but I'm really worried now guys.." Sakura says.  
>"By the looks of that bloody Uchiha, things here are gonna have a devastating ending.." Daisuke says. We both look at Sasuke, his Chidori forming in his hand. "Guys we gotta get back."<br>"But.." I breathe out, staring wide eyed at the duo.  
>"CHIDORI!"<br>"Stop it.." Sakura mumbles. Daisuke grabs my arm and drags me to the top of an air vent on the roof.  
>"I <em>will<em> win!" Naruto calls.  
>"Don't get so cocky!" Sasuke shouts. As they get closer to each other, my heartbeat rose.<br>"Sakura!" I call. But she was in a daze.  
>"Stop it!" Sakura screams, then runs out to them. My eyes widen.<br>"Sakura!" I call, Daisuke traps me, holding me back. I could only watch.  
>Just as they were about to collide, suddenly Kakashi-sensei came out of no where, grabbed them both, and threw them off in separate ways. Two loud bangs came from their collusion with the water tanks.<br>"What do you think you two are doing on top of the hospital?" Kakashi-sensei inquires. "Isn't this a little bit too much for a sparring match?"  
>Sasuke pulls his arm out of the tank, water gushes everywhere, and grins smugly at the tiny stream of water pouring out of the small hole Naruto made in the other tank.<br>"Sasuke, were you planning to kill Naruto?" Kakashi inquires. "Why must you insist on being superior? Chidori is not a move to use against someone from the same village."  
>As Kakashi-sensei was talking I notice just how tightly Daisuke was holding me.<br>"You can let go now.." I groan.  
>"Huh? Oh right." Daisuke lets go of me and I stand up straight. "But seriously what the hell was all that about?"<br>"How would I know?" I reply, looking at him with a shrug.  
>"Well... that was fast." Daisuke says. I blink and turn around, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke and Sakura were gone. "... So what were you doing before..?"<br>"I want to go find Naruto-kun.. he looked upset." I reply, staring at the water tank Naruto hit. Daisuke puts a hand on my shoulder, I turn to him.  
>"Look, it's between him and that Uchiha. They'll sort it out." He says. I thought about it for a moment, then decided he was probably right. "Come on, lets go home or something." He says. I tense up and stare at the ground. "What?"<br>"Ohhhhhhh craaaaaaaaaap..." I whine, then pout. "Uncle Takashi is going to _murder_ me.."  
>"Why?"<br>"GOTTA GO!" I exclaim, jumping off the roof. I head home, hoping, just hoping I will remain alive for the rest of the week.

I get home and I carefully open the partially open front door and sneak through it, I seemed to be having a stroke of luck, the door didn't creak as usual. I tip-toe past the archway leading into the living room, but unfortunately I was quickly noticed.  
>"Hey look mum! It's Setsuki!" Hiromasa exclaims in that high pitched tone that I hate. I freeze on the spot, put on a fake smile to hide my growling and face the trio in the loungeroom.<br>"Oh my God! Setsuki is that you!" Mrs. Saitou questions, standing up. If there's one thing I hate about her, it's her boob hugs.. She runs over and throws her arms around me, burying my head between her boobs. I grimace from disgust.  
>I began gasping for air because of how tight she was squeezing me. "L-let go.. please.." I breathe.<br>"Ohhh it's been years since I last saw you! You've grown so much!" She exclaims, then finally lets go. I inhale deeply and hold my stomach, feeling nauseous from the disgusting perfume she wears – it's like she bathes in it or something. "And your chest has grown out too! Look how big they ar-"  
>"Yes! I know! Remarkable isn't it!" I shout over the top of her to hide my embarrassment. Hiromasa cracks up laughing. And after looking at him, I had to hold back a laugh, he's bigger, and now has stubble down his jawline and under his nose. His black wavy hair was long and wild, obviously he hasn't paid attention to it at all.<br>I then felt a presence behind me. I turn my head back slowly, seeing Uncle Takashi standing behind me with his hands on his hips. "And where have you been..?"  
>"... Um.. I.. was.. er.."<br>"She was trying to avoid us!" Hiromasa exclaims with a snigger.  
>"I was not!" I exclaim.<br>"Were too!" He shouts back.  
>"Oh nonsense Hiromasa! Setsuki would never do such a thing, right honey?" Mrs. Saitou says, putting her arm around my shoulders, holding me toward her.<br>"No.. of course not.." I groan.  
>"Ohh look Iku! She has a Konoha headband!" She exclaims to her husband. Iku stands up and walks over to me and leans down with his eyes squinted at my headband, making me feel awkward.<br>"Ep, it's real alright." Iku says, giving it a flick. My eye twitches.  
>"Of course it's real!" I exclaim. By now Hiromasa found his way to his feet and stood in the center of the living room smirking.<br>"Come on dear, lets go give little Hiromasa a hug! I'm sure the two of you have missed each other dearly!" Mrs. Saitou exclaims.  
>I face Hiromasa with a groan, and he just remained smirking and spread his arms out. I saw the big sweat patches on the arm pits of his shirt and shiver.<br>"I-I disagree." I say.  
>"Oh nonsense!" Mrs. Saitou says, pushing me toward him.<br>"UNCLE TAKASHI!" I whine. I just heard him chuckle behind me. This is pure torture! Mrs. Saitou (Chikaze is her name, but she prefers Mrs. Saitou) pushes me onto Hiromasa and he immediately snaps his arms around me tightly.  
>"Eugh! Get off!" I whine, trying to push him off.<br>"Aww I bet you did miss me Setsuki!" He says, hugging me tighter – I swear he's trying to crush me.  
>"Nnnggh!" I manage to squeeze out of his grip and take a few steps backwards. I felt this icky stuff running down my arms and shiver. '<em>This is disgusting<em>.'  
>"And mum told my you're gonna train me to be a ninja!" He says. My eye twitches.<br>"Yeeaaahh... suuure..." I reply, mentally complaining at Mrs. Saitou.  
>"Yeah! I'm gonna be a real ninja!" Hiromasa exclaims. I scoff quietly.<p>

"Setsuki~ you can come out of your room now, dinner's ready." Takashi calls.  
>"Easier said than done." I grumble quietly, watching Hiromasa with a kunai making sure he doesn't hurt himself. He has 4 suitcases – large ones in my room, all open and his stuff scattered all over my floor, anyone would think he's moving in.<br>"DINNER!" Hiromasa exclaims, jumping to his feet. He drops the kunai, the tip of it falling, aimed straight at his foot. I quickly lunge forward and grab the handle, it only just poked his foot. "Ow!" He squawks, looking down at me. I frown up at him.  
>"It could be a lot worse." I mention, then put it in my ninja pouch.<br>"MUM SETSUKI HURT ME!" Hiromasa cries, running out of the room.  
>"Ugghhh." I groan and manoeuvre around the stuff on the floor to get to the door, then head out to the kitchen where Mrs. Saitou was petting Hiromasa's head repeatedly.<br>"Setsuki! You should be ashamed!" She scowls.  
>"He dropped a kunai on his foot, I caught it." I say.<br>"Oh, then why did you say she tried to stab you darling?"  
>"... I still want that chocolate you said I could have!" Hiromasa exclaims. I give a slight glare. '<em>That's my chocolate!<em>'.  
>"Oh hah hah I think Setsuki should have it, because she saved you from that, what was it called dear?"<br>"A kunai..?" I reply.  
>"Yes that thing. Don't you agree?"<br>"No." Hiromasa groans. I grin smugly and poke my tongue out at him.  
>"Oh don't be like that. She deserves it for saving my baby wabey." She says, ruffling his hair. Hiromasa had slight pink cheeks and the biggest look of embarrassment ever. I found it hilarious, I had to hold back a laugh. I then look past them to the table, a roast! I smile and sit down beside Takashi and begin eating.<p>

Then it was bed time. Hiromasa laid down on the futon beside my bed, and it seemed like he instantly fell asleep... and he snores loud. Louder than Uncle Takashi.  
>There I am, laying in bed, holding my pillow tightly to my ears, staring at the ceiling tiredly. But as bad as all this is, there was one horrifying thought I could not get out of my head. I kept asking the same questions. '<em>Did the operation succeed? Is Lee-san alright?<em>'

I roll over ready to pass out at any moment, the alarm clock glows through the dark room, showing 3:44 am. I close my eyes. '_I know it succeeded.. I know it.. did..._' With that, I black out.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

My alarm began ringing at 5am. I roll over with a groan. Hiromasa's groan echoes through the room.  
>"Shut up.." He groans.<br>"You.." I groan. I reach over and hit the snooze button. I know I normally get up now, but not today, no with only 2 hours sleep it's not enough. But it was too late, I'm already awake. I look out the window, resting my head tiredly on the pillow. The morning glow of the sun couldn't be seen yet. Hopefully when it does rise, I will feel energised. Hopefully. I close my eyes again.

Beep.. Beep.. Beep.. Bee-

"SHUT UP!" I shout, smashing the damn alarm clock.  
>"YOU SHUT UP!" Hiromasa shouts, followed by a snore. I sweatdrop, he's shouting in his sleep. I notice it's only been 5 minutes since the alarm last went off. I sigh, and decide to get up. Maybe some exercise will wake me up. I yawn loudly while stretching my arms. I manoeuvre my way around the junk on the floor, to my closet. I grab my spandex suit, the orange leg warmers and my headband. I then make my way to the bathroom to get changed, then just throw my pyjamas in the wash. I brush my hair, put my headband around my head and go to the kitchen. Takashi was up, standing over the bench in the dim light from the kettle, rubbing his eyes.<br>"Uncleee." I whine. Just looking at him like that makes me tired.  
>"Hmm?" He responds then picks up his glasses and cleans them with his shirt.<br>"I'm tired.." I complain.  
>"Then go back to bed." He replies, putting his glasses on with a yawn. Which of course made me yawn. After all the yawning I shake my head.<br>"He's too loud. I can't sleep." I say. Takashi looks over to me and has a slightly surprised look.  
>"Did you get any sleep last night..?" He inquires, pushing his glasses up. The kettle clicked, a sign that the water was boiled.<br>"A bit." I say, walking over to him. He puts his arm around my shoulders and I lean against him as he makes his cup of coffee.  
>"Coffee..?" He offers.<br>"Yes.." I reply, extending an arm out for that cup. He seemed to tired to care, so I pick it up with both hands, blow on it, then take a sip. My eyes snap wide open. I take another sip, feeling the warmth spreading through my body, warming up every muscle, energy levels rising. I just had to keep drinking more! More more!  
>"That's enough." He says, confiscating the cup from my hands.<br>"B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-but! I WANT MORE!" I shout, my eyes twitching.  
>"NO!" He shouts, drinking the rest quickly. I look at my arms shaking – I neeeeeeed to move around.<br>"BAHAHAHAHAHA!" I laugh hysterically then bolt out the door laughing. Takashi facepalms.  
>"Bad idea.." He groans to himself.<p>

I run down the streets so fast I felt like I was flying. So much energy! Able to move! This suit and caffeine, I must do this every morning! I thought if I run laps around the village from the outside I might feel even more alive!

I run down the only road that leads in and out of the village. I heard a quiet mumbling as I pass one of the benches. "That's odd!" I exclaim, I then look back, seeing someone laying on one. I stop running, coming to a halt, only to trip on an uneven stone and face plant into the ground. I really need to learn how to stop in this suit. I jump to my feet feeling absolutely no pain at all, so I figure that I'm fine. I jog over to the person on the bench, only to be surprised. "Sakura-chan..? Why are you sleeping here?" I inquire loudly.  
>Sakura only responded with quiet words through mumbling, all I made out was a 'don't go' and a lot of 'no's.<br>"Sakura! Sakura! Sakura! Sakura! Sa-"  
>"Huh...?" She grimaces in her sleep and rubs her eyes, then suddenly sits up with a gasp and wide eyes.<br>"Sakura..?"  
>She looks around frantically then stares at her knees, looking very very depressed. Her eyes began to water.<br>"Sa.. Sakura-chan..?"  
>She bites her lip sulking quietly. "T-tch.."<br>I sit beside her and pat her back. "Sakura what's w-"  
>"Oh Setsuki-chan!" She cries, immediately clinging to me, burying her head on my shoulder. I blink with surprise of this sudden movement. Light began to appear down the path, the sun was rising. Sakura was just hysterical, getting answers out of her would be impossible. I just put my arm around her and rub her back, my leg still bouncing with energy.<br>"Hm? What's the problem?"  
>I look up seeing two men carrying very large books in a tall pile. I shrug at them.<br>"It's Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cries.  
>"Sasuke?"<br>"The Uchiha?" They inquire.  
>"What happened?" I ask. Sakura releases her grip on my suit and stares at my shoulder.<br>"H-he... he.. left.." She sobs. We all gasp in union.  
>"What to you mean he left..?" One of the men inquire.<br>"He left!" Sakura shouts.  
>"When did he leave? He couldn't have gone far right? I'll go search for him!" I exclaim, jumping to my feet. Sakura sits up holding a hand to her chest.<br>"Setsuki.."  
>"No! You mustn't! We have to report to Tsunade-sama first!" One of the men say.<br>"Izumo's right! You must stay here!" The other says.  
>"But it might be too late by then!" I say, taking off down the road. "I NEED TO RELEASE THIS ENERGY ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!" I shout back.<p>

With absolutely no idea where I'm going, I just kept running and running.. I'm bound to find something eventually. How dare Sasuke leave the village! I found myself running right into the horizon, the run was rising the way I'm facing, it's blinding. Nonetheless I kept running as fast as my legs could carry me, it's a good thing I had that caffeine.

The sun was now well in the sky, possibly being close to 8 am, I haven't stopped running once, and I still have much energy left. "I will catch up to you Sasuke-chan!" I shout. At the scent of smoke I slow down, taking in my surroundings. I had wondered far into the forest, and I see something up ahead. I go and investigate. My eyes widen slightly at the sight. Smoke rising up from the ground, big dents in the ground. Kunais and Shurikens in the trees, small patches of blood here and there. '_Someone fought here recently.. it must be Sasuke!_' I continue on, running straight ahead. I must be catching up.

A short while later, my suspicions were right. Four people walking. I did not slow down, I sped up. "OI!" I shout, two jump right, two jump left. I stop and look both ways at them. Straight away, I notice their Otogakure headbands. I send slight glares to them.  
>"Well this doesn't look like a Jonin.. it's just a kid." One says, a really fat one with some sort of barrel on his back.<br>"Kuh, we haven't time for this crap. Kill her and lets get going already!" The female beside him gushes. I tense up slightly.  
>"I'll do the honour." I quickly turn around, one with 6 arms was already charging at me. I get into stance.<br>"Don't take too long Kidomaru." The female says, the other three then jump off.  
>"Oi!" I shout again, but I had to block this guy first. Three arms go to punch me at once. I catch two of his fists and lean right back, bending some to avoid the last hit.<br>"Heh, you're so weak I wont even have to activate my curse mark." He scoffs.  
>"We'll see about that! HA!" I shout, still feeling full of energy. "YOSH!" I pull his arms making him fall forward, I then kick his stomach multiple times to get him up in the air.<br>"What..? You're fast for a kid!" He growls. I appear behind him.  
>"Indeed!" I exclaim, making him twitch. He looks over his shoulder. I grab his biceps on his middle arms and spin around quickly, heading for the ground. "GAI-SENSEI TAUGHT ME THIS! PRIMARY LOTUS!" I shout.<br>"WAH!"  
>I smirk and jump away to watch him smash into the ground. Within a big crash I smirk wider seeing his legs helpless dangling in the air, and his head buried somewhat underground I stand tall, victoriously. Now onto the other ones! I start running when suddenly I trip. "Ow!" I look over my shoulder seeing that guy standing on a tree branch laughing. I look over to where I thought I had buried him – a log. '<em>Substitution!<em>' I jump to my feet, but I couldn't move properly. I look down and saw.. spiderweb? My eyes widen in fear and I look around frantically. I HATE SPIDERS!  
>"You really are pathetic." He scoffs. "I could just leave you here like that, or.." He smirks, "I could feed my little friends."<br>My eye twitches, and I heard a weird noise. I look around seeing the trees suddenly covered in web. I rip my foot out of it and take a step backwards. The sight before me was like my worst nightmare come to life. Hundreds, no, thousands of spiders were crawling around. I began shivering in fright.  
>"Feast time!" He shouts. They all rush at me. I whine inwardly. "This is what you get for chasing 'friends'!" He laughs. My eyes began to shake from fear, then suddenly a voice echoes through my head.<br>"_Would you rather hold on to your friend and die along with him, or ditch him and save yourself?_"  
>"Kabuto..." I look up at this 'Kidomaru'. "Not today!" I shout.<br>"Hmm?"  
>The spiders kept on closing in on me. I bite my thumb as hard as I could, and wince. Once I felt blood trickling down I quickly perform a few hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu!"<br>Within a puff of smoke Kea- I gasp, a really big snake, twice as big as Keahebi it's body the circumference of both my arms put together, and it's length at least three meters long.  
>"Kyaa! So big!" I exclaim. The snake hisses and raises it's head up to my level.<br>"According to the ssssituation thisss isss no time to be disssstracted SSSSetssssuki." It speaks.  
>"KEAHEBI!" I question. "YOU'VE ALMOST TRIPLED IN SIZE!" I exclaim. Keahebi rolls his eyes and attacks multiple spiders at once.<br>"Keahebi.. now where have I heard that before..." Kidomaru mumbles.  
>"Ahhh Kidomaru eh..? SSSSetsssuki you've got yoursssself into quite sssome trouble with thissss guy." Keahebi says.<br>"I don't care! I'm after Sasuke!" I say.  
>"The Uchiha.. I sssee. I'll help you with thissss fight." Keahebi says.<br>"As if a measly snake can help you!" Kidomaru mocks. I then begin to pick up on fatigue in his voice, is he.. hiding a pant?  
>"Keahebi, I think he's tired, we should be able to beat him while he's down!" I say. I blink. "Keahebi?" I look around for him. I notice an oversized jumping spider coming right for my face. "AAAHHHHH!" Keahebi's head comes out of nowhere and swallows the spider in one go.<br>"You need to be more careful." He says.  
>"BUT I <span>HATE<span> SPIDERS!" I whine.  
>"He'sss gone..!" Keahebi exclaims, looking up to the branch.<br>"Wha-" A heavy punch to my cheek sends me flying off the ground into a tree, I hit my head hard against it and slide down in pain. I clench my teeth and hold my head with one hand, the other hand on the ground for support. I look up, Kidomaru was headed straight for me. I taste blood in my mouth and spit it out. I move quickly enough to dodge the punch. I suddenly felt a pain in my arms, in fact, my whole body. I could barely do anything but stand on on the spot.  
>"What happened?" Keahebi questions.<br>"I.. don't know.." I reply, wincing.  
>"Heh.. seems that last technique you performed hurt your body hm?" Kidomaru sniggers.<br>I gasp slightly. '_That's right! Gai-sensei told me the Primary Lotus has a temporary downfall on the user's body.. dammit! Why didn't I think of that before I used it?_' I stood there panting, struggling to move.  
>"SSSSetsssuki, can you move..?"<br>"N-no.." I reply regrettably. Kidomaru cackles.  
>"And <em>you<em> challenged me? Pathetic!" Kidomaru says.  
>"I'll cover for you for now.." Keahebi says, slithering around my feet, then raising his head to my stomach-height, facing Kidomaru ready to strike.<p>

They fought until my body recovered and I could move again, even though it was still kind of painful, perhaps I pulled a muscle by mistake. Kidomaru kept jumping around the trees, like he was trying to get Keahebi stuck. But it wasn't working. I jump up when he wasn't expecting it.  
>"Dynamic Entry!" I shout, kicking Kidomaru's shoulder, pounding him into the ground. This time, it was the real Kidomaru. I stood back panting.<br>"Little brat.." Kidomaru gushes, pulling himself up. Suddenly orange-colored marks spread across half his body, and once they stop moving, they fade to black.  
>With an evil smirk, he was back on his feet. I get an overconfident look. "I can still.. win!" I exclaim, then pant.<br>"Ha." Was his only reply. He suddenly disappeared. I blink a few times and look in every direction.  
>"Where'd he g-" I felt something heavy hit my head. "GAH!" I fall to the ground, like I was paralysed in pain.<br>"SSSetsssuki!" Keahebi calls.  
>"And you thought you could defeat me? One of the sound four? Heh."<br>I slowly began to feel cold, and the stinging from my head was almost unbearable. But I couldn't move. I close my eyes tightly, beginning to feel numb and slowly.. slowly.. things went dark..


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

"Setsuki! Setsuki! Wake up dammit! Tch.. I can barely move like this... SETSUKI!"  
>My finger twitches. I can hear a voice...<br>"Damn it.. if I have to push you in that damn river so be it.."  
>I heard a splash, then suddenly I came conscious, I open my eyes and look around, I'm sinking.. in water. I look up and take a deep breath, swallowing the water. The aching in my muscles began to cease, and I still feel a large quantity of chakra left, it's a good thing I only used Taijutsu.. wait..!<br>I swim to the surface as fast as I could, the small sting on my head slowly fading as I swim.  
>I get to the surface, jumping above it, then I stand on it. I look around, I was on some sort of river, around a few large.<br>"Dude! You need to take it easy!"  
>"Don't talk to me like that you ba-" The voice broke out in coughing.<br>"Baka!"  
>I look over to the two people. One I recognized straight away, the other, I'm not too sure. I run over because Kiba was coughing up blood – not a good sign. "Kiba!" I call, both heads turn towards me. I run the few steps to kneel beside the Inuzuka. "KIBA DON'T DIE!" I shout, shaking him back and forth.<br>"GAA-AAAGHHH! STOP IT!" Kiba shrieks. "YOU'RE HURTING ME!"  
>I immediately let go. "DON'T DIE ON ME!" I shout, panicking.<br>"I'M NOT GONNA DIE DAMMIT!" Kiba shouts back. I blink.  
>"Gee you two are like cats and dogs." The person says. I had almost forgotten he was there.<br>"Shut it!" Kiba gushes, then coughs again. That face paint.  
>"H-hey, you're..." I blink a few times.<br>"Kankuro. Yes that's me." The guy says. "Remember..?"  
>"Back at the Chuunin Exams!" I exclaim. Kankuro gives a single nod.<br>"...! YOU! YOU BETRAYED THE ALLIANCE! YOU'RE AN ENEMY!" I shout, pointing at Kankuro. Kankuro raises his hands defensively.  
>"N-now wait a minute!" Kankuro says.<br>"That's what I said!" Kiba says.  
>"I'LL TAKE YOU DOWN!" I gasp. "YOU BEAT KIBA TO A PULP AND YOU'RE CHALLENGING ME NOW!" I question.<br>"WHAT?" They both shout.  
>"BEAT ME TO A PULP!" Kiba snarls.<br>"Challenging you!" Kankuro questions. "No! You've got it all wrong!"  
>I tilt my head. "Then why is Kiba dying!" I question.<br>"I'm not dying you idiot!" Kiba growls. Kankuro sighs. "Sit down dammit!"  
>"But I-"<br>"SIT!" Kiba shouts then winces. I quickly plop down on my butt. "Ugh."  
>"Hey! No need to treat her like a dog you baka!" Kankuro growls.<br>"Shut up!" Kiba snarls. I was beginning to wonder if it would be more peaceful if we just knock him out – it's what Komaru-sensei, Susumu-kun and I always do to Daisuke-kun. I shrug, it's worth a shot right? I look around.  
>"Don't you tell me to shut up!" Kankuro gushes. "I'm the one who saved your ass back there!" Kiba went quiet with a grumble.<br>"Saved..?" I inquire, now interested. I look up at Kankuro with a few blinks.  
>"If you hadn't of been recklessss yesssterday you could have been of ssssome help."<br>I look beside Kankuro, Keahebi was coiled up.  
>"WHAT? YESTERDAY?" I question. '<em>Man what is with me and being knocked unconscious over night?<em>'  
>"It'ssss a good thing thisss boy and hissss dog and 2 othersss found you, otherwissse you'd be dead." Keahebi says.<br>"D-DEAD?"  
>"Yesss. That wound wasss harshh." Keahebi says. "Blood wasss leaking from your head like a river."<br>"Tch, you ought to be thankful Setsuki. I saved your ass." Kiba scoffs. I fold my arms, then get a thought.  
>"Waaait wait wait..! Why are you all here..? Where's Sasuke?" I question. Kiba sighs and coughs again.<br>"I'll explain on the way." Kankuro says, wrapping his puppet back up and putting it on his back.

I ended up carrying Kiba on my back as we jump through the trees, Kankuro carried Akamaru who was unconscious.  
>"What..? So what of Sasuke!" I question. Kiba had passed out ages ago.<br>Kankuro shakes his head. "I really have no idea. That blonde kid, your friend, was chasing after him or something last I heard." He says.  
>"Blonde.. chasing after Sasuke... Ino!" I question. Kankuro sweatdrops.<br>"No, he's a guy." Kankuro says, then looks at the sky. "Can't think of his name.. this is annoying, jaan."  
>"NARUTO-KUN?"<br>"Yeah that's the on-"  
>"IS HE ALRIGHT? TELL ME HE'S OKAY!" I shout. Kankuro gives another shrug.<br>"I don't know!" He implies. I frown.  
>"If he's hurt..."<br>"I'm sure he'll be fine." He says. I look towards him. Kankuro gives me a reassuring smile. "I've heard all about how he never gives up and what not." He mentions.  
>"Yeah, you're right. How naïve of me to forget his best quality." I say, smiling down at the ground.<br>"Hm? Best quality?"  
>"To never give up!" I say, looking up. "Nyah!" I stop suddenly and carefully remove one arm from holding Kiba's leg and rubbing my eyes.<br>"What's wrong?" Kankuro asks, stopping on the same branch.  
>"Got dirt or something in my eye." I say, making my eyes watery.<br>"Dirt..?" He inquires, then the light randomly dimmed. "OH CRAP!" Kankuro shrieks, throws his arms around me and Kiba and jumps off.  
>"WAH! LET GO!" I cry, I then look up seeing.. sand? Floating above us.<br>"NOT NOW!" Kankuro retorts, jumping faster. "Damn Gaara gets carried away sometimes!"

Kankuro stops after the sand did. As soon as he let go, I reposition Kiba on my back so I could carry him properly. "Gaara... he's here too..?" I inquire with a gulp, remembering the first time we met.  
>"Yeah..? Why what's wrong?" Kankuro asks. I shiver.<br>"Nothing..." I then blink. "Why.. is the ground shaking..?" I inquire.  
>"Wh-" Suddenly white things shoot up from the ground, all different sizes, kind of like horns. We jump up into nearby trees which seemed to be out of range. "What the hell is that?" Kankuro questions. I jump down once they stop appearing and flick one.<br>"I dunno but they're hard." I say. Kankuro jumps down beside me and touches it with his fingertips.  
>"Bones..?"<br>"Bones?"  
>"They're bones!"<br>"EW!" I shriek. "That's gross!"  
>"Hahaha girls are all the same." He laughs. I roll my eyes. "Anyway, Gaara should be around here by the looks of this sand. Come on." Kankuro jumps off, I follow.<p>

On the other end of all these bones, we saw Gaara and..! "LEE-SAN!" I scream. Both of them look in our direction. I land in front of them, drop Kiba and hug Lee, feeling so glad to see him. I felt him tense up slightly.  
>"A-aahh oww.. S-Setsuki-san.. p-please let go.." Lee stutters. I blink and let go, then see many wounds on him.<br>"What happened? Why are you hurt!" I question.  
>"E-er well it was that guy we fought just now." Lee says. Gaara sighs and slides down against the tree into a sitting position, and I notice a drop of sweat fall down his cheek, but not that I cared. Lee is right here! Alive!<br>"That doesn't matter! As long as you're alive! So the surgery was a success! That's such great news!" I exclaim. Lee's cheeks turn slightly pink.  
>"Setsuki-san.. thank you." He says, giving a small smile. "You believed in me, that helped a lot." He says. I held myself back, I just wanted to hug Lee over and over. I was bouncing with excitement. Lee's eye twitches randomly.<br>"What's wrong..?" I question.  
>"P-pain.. ow ow.." Lee slides down against the tree slowly.<br>"Setsuki calm down already. I've got a headache from your loud voice." Kankuro complains. I just ignore him.  
>"Kankuro.. where is Temari..?" Gaara inquires. His cold voice made me shiver so I plop down beside Lee, as if hiding behind him. Lee leans back against the tree, and Kankuro sits down beside Kiba.<br>"I dunno, probably still fighting." Kankuro answers. "And you, you look pretty beat up, jaan."  
>"Yeah.. I'm at my limit.." Gaara says, looking at the ground. "And I completely lost." He sighs.<br>"... That's not true." Lee says, spreading his legs out, sitting in a lazy position. "My sensei taught me, that luck is part of your skill."  
>"That meddling fool?" Gaara inquires, still staring at the ground. Lee sits up suddenly grimacing at Gaara.<br>"He's not a meddling fool! At that time.. it was because I was too cowardly. I am grateful for your help, but do not speak about my sensei that way!" Lee growls. I sat there nodding my head in agreement with Lee.  
>"You too, huh?" Gaara says. "When you feel that the name of the one you admire is disgraced, you are terribly hurt as well and become enraged. The more precious the person you worship is to you... Fighting for those important to you.. it's the same as him.. Uzumaki Naruto."<br>Lee leans back a bit and I had to admit since that time in the hospital when we first met, Gaara has become a lot less bloodthirsty, and a lot more wise.  
>"But just because someone is important to you doesn't necessarily mean that person is good." Gaara says.<br>"Do you think so?" Lee asks. "I don't think anyone would consider a bad person important." I bring my knees to my chest and hug them.  
>'<em>I do Lee. I do..<em>'  
>"No. Even if you knew that person was evil, people cannot win against their loneliness.." Gaara says. He couldn't have said that better. I close my eyes with a sigh through my nose.<br>'_I know Kabuto-kun is evil.. yet.. he's still important to me.._'  
>"Is.. is that true..?" Lee inquires.<br>"Yeah.. it's true.." I reply.  
>"Setsuki-san..?"<br>I open my eyes to stare at the grass, not saying anything further. Daydreaming about my childhood.

"Kabuto~~ Wake up teehee.." I giggle. He groans. I hide the blue permanent marker in my pocket. "Kabuto~ teehee."  
>He opens an eye. "What..? I don't trust that tone." He says, rubbing his eyes. I laugh. "What's so funny huh?" He fixes his glasses and stands up.<br>"Nofing!" I reply.  
>"It's not nothing!"<br>"Yeah 'tis!" I exclaim.  
>"Yeah right! I'm telling dad! You did something didn't you?" He says.<br>"Nah uh! Uncle Takashi is out fishing remember..? He's gonna catch a shark!"  
>"Wha..? Dad catching a shark? Hahaha as if! I think mum would be more likely to do that." He says then laughs hysterically, I join in. Aunt Megumi can always be fierce at times, she scares the both of us all the time.<br>"Yeah!" I concur.  
>"Hey.. what's that..?" He inquires. I blink.<br>"What...?" He puts a finger on my chest. I look down to see what he was pointing at, he then flicks his finger upwards hitting my nose. "Nyah!"  
>Kabuto laughs. "You fall for it every time. It never gets old!"<br>"Neither does your face!" I say, then laugh.  
>"What? What about my face?" He questions. I snigger and take a step backwards. He touches all around his face then looks at his hands, seeing some blue ink he wiped off some of the pretty shapes I drew on him. "SETSUKI!"<br>"AHAHAHA!" I run away laughing. "Get back here!" He shouts, chasing after me. I run down the dirt path leading to our village – Kikyo Pass. It's a small town, possibly a population of 500 or more. "I'm going to get you back!" Kabuto shouts angrily.  
>"Never!" I giggle, running around avoiding the few people on the quiet streets. I run home and trip over the door frame on my way in, while laughing. Kabuto pounced me two seconds later. "Ahahaha!"<br>"Ha! Got you now!" Kabuto exclaims.  
>"N-no! Haha! Don't tickle! BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"<br>"Heh! Can't escape the tickle torture!" Kabuto says, tickling my sides. I thrash about, my very ticklish self, laughing uncontrollably.  
>"NO! K-KAORI! HAHAHAHA!"<br>"Don't call her!" Kabuto says, and stops tickling. I slide out from under him and wipes the tears of laughter from my eyes.  
>Kaori comes down the stairs. "Someone call me..?" She inquires, strutting around in her purpleness.<br>"Too late." Kabuto groans.  
>"OUTTA MY WAY!" I scream and run past Kaori, up the stairs.<br>"Hey! You can't escape my torture!" Kaori calls.  
>"I need to pee!" I shout, running to the bathroom.<br>"KUROMIZU SETSUKI! DON'T USE WORDS LIKE THAT!" Mum shouts from the kitchen.  
>"SORRY!" I shout, not sure if she heard me.<p>

After relieving myself I walk out of the bathroom wiping my hands on my shirt, only to come face to face with evil glances from Kaori and Kabuto. I laugh nervously.  
>"O-okay guys.." I stutter, but then I see Kabuto's hair looks like a bird's nest, Kaori must have ruffled his hair.<br>"Ha! I _would_ play around a little longer with you two, but I got a date tonight." Kaori says.  
>"Eww boys are icky." I groan.<br>"Girls are icky-er~" Kabuto says.  
>"Nah ahh!"<br>"Yeah huh!"  
>"Oh stop fighting." Kaori says.<br>"We're not fighting Kaori." Kabuto says. "We're disagreeing."  
>"Oh yeah yeah, you and your nerdy little brain." Kaori laughs, ruffling his hair again. She goes to ruffle mine when I duck. Kaori struts to her room. Kabuto stands beside me as we watch her.<br>"Pssst Setsuki, we should ruin her date like last time." He whispers.  
>"I'M IN!" I concur.<br>"Shh!"

"Alright mum, I'll be back my 8 o'clock~" Kaori chimes, walking out the door.  
>"Alright dear." Mum replies. Just as Kaori leaves, dad walks in through the door. "Oh Shou you're home."<br>Dad smiles and walks over to mum and gives her an icky kiss. "How was your day Sakura?"  
>"Quite nice, the kids have been up to mischief again." Mum replies with a giggle.<br>"Ohh..?" Dad raises an eyebrow towards Kabuto and I. We blink in unison.  
>"With a certain blue permanent marker." Mum pulls out the same marker I had before. I was in awe. "How did you get that!" I question. Mum giggles.<br>"I have ways sweetheart. And Kabuto dear, isn't my brother getting worried about you by now? It's starting to get late after all." Mum says.  
>"Nah dad's gone fishing remember..?" Kabuto replies. I nudge Kabuto with my elbow.<br>"Kaori~" I chime.  
>"Oh right! Um, yeah! You're right aunt Sakura! Can Setsuki come with me?" Kabuto inquires.<br>"Oh well of course, I'll send Kaori to pick you up on her way home, okay Setsuki?" Mum says. I nod smiling.  
>"Yup!"<br>"Come on then!" Kabuto says, dragging me out by my wrist.

"Where do you think she went?" Kabuto asks as we look around. I shrug.  
>"But guess what!"<br>"What?"  
>I pull out a fake scorpion from my pocket which is attached to a string. "I got this!"<br>"Cool! Where'd you get that from?" He asks, taking it to examine it.  
>"I dunno, I just found it." I say.<br>"Cool."  
>"You kids are out late."<br>We both turn around behind us. "Mum!"  
>"Aunt Megumi!" I exclaim.<br>"Kabuto it's past curfew is it not..?" She mentions. I look left and right really quickly.  
>"What's a curfew?" Kabuto inquires.<br>Aunt Megumi sighs. "We're not up to anything Aunt Megumi." I say.  
>"Oh you aren't? Well that's good. I heard the Saitou's are coming tomorrow too." Megumi says. Our eyes widen and we look at each other.<br>"Not Hiromasa!" We whine, hugging each other.  
>"Yes Hiromasa." Megumi says.<br>"No!" Kabuto and I gush at the same time, hugging each other tighter. Megumi laughs hysterically.  
>"I was joking. I was joking!" She laughs. We frown. "Alright come on. Setsuki are you going home or do you want to sleep over tonight?"<br>"Mum said Kaori's coming to get me." I say.  
>"Oh..? Well alright then, lets go." She says.<br>"I wonder what kind of fish dad will catch!" Kabuto says.  
>"I told you already! A shark!" I exclaim.<br>"Don't be silly Setsuki." Kabuto says. I poke my tongue out at him while smiling. He does the same. Then we laugh.  
>"I'll put it in her bed tonight." I say, pointing to the scorpion in his hand. Kabuto grins and hands it back to me.<br>"You should film it! I'll lend you my camera." He says. "Just don't break it."  
>"I wont!" I exclaim with a big smile. Kabuto's awesome because he has cool electronic stuff.<p>

"So how was the date Kaori~?" I chirp.  
>"Oh it was perfect!" Kaori exclaims, sitting down on her bed. "You can hop out of my room now."<br>"Oh what's that?" I ask, pointing to a small spec on the wall.  
>"Hm?" While she was distracted, I put the scorpion under her blanket and get up to leave.<br>"Night~" I say.  
>"Good night." She says. I set the camera up perfectly to capture this. I set it to video and press record. Now all that's left is to wait. "!" I smirk.<br>I grab the camera and run to my room and shut the door and replay the footage and crack up laughing. "I gotta show Kabuto tomorrow!" I put the camera on the beside table and fall asleep, ready for another great day tomorrow.

I zone back in to reality after hearing a loud yawn.  
>"That's a very big smile Setsuki-san." Lee says, poking my cheek. I jump and my eyes widen, Kankuro stops yawning.<br>"WAH!" I fall over onto my side and seeing it's just Lee, I let out a sigh of relief. Lee chuckles lightly. I rub my eyes and lay comfortably in the soft grass.  
>"We should head back soon." Lee mentions. Gaara and Kankuro nod in agreement, Kiba and Akamaru were still unconscious. I stare at the sky, picturing Kabuto's face.<br>'_Why did you try and kill me that day..? Why have you turned evil..? Why can't you be like you used to be..?_'  
>"Kankuro! Gaara!" A female calls, and I hear two people land on the grass. I tilt my head upside down so I could see who it was. Shikamaru and that blond girl from Sunagakure.<br>"Huh? Hey she has blue hair, hey Kankuro is she that girl you were saying was al-"  
>"SHUT UP TEMARI!" Kankuro shouts, getting a look of fear. I blink and roll onto my stomach.<br>"Huh? Setsuki? What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asks.  
>"Shikamaru!" I sit up. "Did you guys get Sasuke-chan back?" I ask.<br>"Err, well Naruto went chasing after some guy called Kimimaro. That was the last I saw." Shikamaru replies.  
>"Kimimaro?" Lee inquires. "Wasn't that the name of that guy we defeated?" Gaara nods.<br>"Did you see Naruto, Lee-san?" I ask.  
>Lee nods, "Hai. Naruto-kun was chasing Sasuke-kun I think." Lee says.<br>"Oh, well in that case he's sure to bring Sasuke-chan back!" I say. Lee nods in agreement.  
>"I wonder about that.." Gaara says, staring at the ground again. ".. That Uchiha.. his eyes show great hatred.. revenge.. someone with that sort of goal can't be changed easily. Even by him, Uzumaki Naruto." Gaara says.<br>"Nonsense!" I exclaim. They all look at me. I stand up and point at Gaara. "Naruto might not be the brightest person in the world, but when it comes to friends, nothing, and I repeat, _nothing_ will stop him!" I exclaim. Gaara looks up at me with slight surprise. "And if I don't know Naruto-kun and Sasuke-chan's bond any better, Naruto will absolutely never give up! Sasuke is Naruto-kun's teammate! Comrade! Rival! Brother! There's absolutely no way he'd fail on bringing Sasuke back!" I exclaim. All eyes stare at me in surprise. I suddenly felt awkward, it's not all the time I yell at people, so I quieten down.  
>"... You know.." Lee begins, looking down. I look at him and he slowly stands up. "You are 100% right, Setsuki-san! Naruto-kun will not fail!" Lee says, giving me a thumbs up. I smile. Just then thunder scared the hell out of me and I cling to Lee in fright.<br>"Thunder..?" Shikamaru inquires, we all look up to the sky, dark clouds were rolling in fast.  
>"That's a sign for us to get moving." Shikamaru says. We all nod in agreement and begin making our way back to the village.<p> 


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

Kankuro carried Kiba on his back, Temari carried Akamaru because she thought he was cute, and I helped Lee walk by putting his arm around my shoulders and one arm around his waist.  
>It took us another full day to get back to the village, we had to lay down and rest for the night before continuing the next morning.<br>"How much further..?" Kiba complains, hating the idea of being carried by Kankuro because he couldn't walk.  
>"Not much longer." Shikamaru answers.<br>"Yeah but how much, that's not a proper answer." Kiba complains.  
>"Ah shut up." Kankuro grumbles.<br>"Don't tell me to shut up!" Kiba gushes. It was a lot more peaceful when Kiba was out. Lee sighs of annoyance, Gaara, Shikamaru and Temari sped up their walking pace, probably wanting to start a race.. I smirk.  
>"Lee-san." I whisper.<br>"Hm?"  
>"Get on my back."<br>"Why?" He whispers back. I lean toward his head more.  
>"Look at their paces, they are mentally challenging us to a race." I whisper. Lee looks at Gaara, Temari and Shikamaru.<br>"You're right!" He exclaims. Kankuro looks at us curiously. "Let me get on you, Setsuki-san!"  
>"What..?" Kankuro gushes with his eye twitching.<br>"Yosh! Get on as fast as you can Lee-san!" I say. Kiba shows a grossed out face.  
>"I will! As fast as I can!" Lee says.<br>"Save it for when we get back to the village!" Kiba gushes.  
>"No! It will be too late then!" I exclaim.<br>"EUGH! TOO MUCH INFO!" Kankuro shouts.  
>"What's all the shouting?" Shikamaru inquires, looking over his shoulders. Lee gets a confident grin, and I help him onto my back, grabbing his legs so he doesn't fall.<br>"I am going to ride Setsuki-san back to the village then we will beat you all!" Lee exclaims. Temari, Gaara, Shikamaru and Kankuro all freeze on the spot, like they had a shiver up their spines.  
>"Beat us to what? Losing our virginity?" Kankuro questions. Both Lee and I stare at Kankuro.<br>"Why would we...? We're racing to the village." I say. They all let out the biggest sigh of relief. Lee and I were completely confused. They all continue walking.  
>"Besides! We are too young for.." Lee pauses with a slight shiver. ".. Right, Setsuki-san!"<br>"Yosh!" I concur. "Kankuro-kun you are gross!"  
>"Wh- I wasn't the one making the disgusting remarks!" Kankuro gushes.<br>"What disgusting remarks?" I inquire, tilting my head. Lee stared at him, obviously wanting the same answers.  
>"Ugh, forget it.. they're too dimwitted to understand.. so troublesome.." Shikamaru grumbles.<br>"WE ARE NOT DIMWITTED!" Lee shouts at the top of his lungs. He points to Shikamaru with fire in his eyes. "We are Gai-sensei's best!"  
>I nod. "We will beat you all with the springtime of youth!" I exclaim. Lee looks down at me for a moment.<br>"That is true! You are wearing Gai-sensei's ultimate training suit! Together, Setsuki-san and I are the youthful duo who will beat you all!" Lee exclaims.  
>"Yeaaah... hey what happened to all that blue you used to wear?" Kankuro inquires.<br>"I am wearing this!" I exclaim.  
>"Kankuro what have I told you about questioning what girls wear..?" Temari inquires. Kankuro grumbles. I notice Shikamaru walk slightly faster.<br>"AHA! HOLD ON LEE-SAN!" I shout. Lee grips my shoulders as I abruptly take off as fast as I can. They all sweatdrop.

Once I reach the village, there were multiple people standing around. Gai-sensei, Uncle Takashi, the Saitou's, and my squad.  
>"GAI-SENSEI!" Lee shouts, capturing their attention.<br>"LEE! SETSUKI! .. LEE!" Gai-sensei calls.  
>"GAI-SENSEI!" Lee shouts back. Takashi was shaking his head at me, Mrs. Saitou had her hands covering her mouth in shock, Iku and Hiromasa sigh of relief, Komaru-sensei was smiling proudly, Susumu was half asleep and Daisuke had pink cheeks for some reason.<br>"Setsuki-san! Slow down!" Lee says, obviously wanting to have a youthful moment with his sensei. I start slowing down, but not in time. I widen my eyes, knowing I'm most likely going to fall over again.  
>"OUTTA THE WAY!" I shout.<br>"W-Setsuki-san..! Slow down and stop with a slide!" Lee shouts. I listen to his instructions, stopping and sliding, coming to a complete stop, an inch away from Gai-sensei. The closeness made both our eyes widen and I take a big step backwards, then I smile smugly. I didn't fall over!  
>Lee jumps off my back and clings to Gai-sensei, creating a very youthful bear hug, their cheeks even rub against each other.<br>"Aww." I thought it was the cutest thing ever. I actually wanted to join in, when suddenly I felt something grab my ear and pull me back." OW! Ow ow ow owieee!" I whine. Takashi had hold of my ear and was giving me a glare.  
>"You are in big trouble young lady!" He growls.<br>"But..!"  
>"No! You run out of the house laughing and don't come back until two days later! I'm never giving you caffeine again!" He snarls. My lower lip began to quiver.<br>"Yakushi-san." Gai-sensei says, now standing up straight, seeming solemn. Takashi points at Gai.  
>"That's <em>DOCTOR<em> Yakushi to _you_!"  
>Gai-sensei flinches backwards slightly. "Well, <em>Doctor<em> Yakushi, Setsuki was away on a very important mission you see, a fellow Genin of ours, Uchiha Sasuke left the village, and Setsuki must have been asked to go on that mission." Gai-sensei explains.  
>I laugh nervously. "Y-yeah, asked.." I say between laughter.<br>"But Setsuki-san, Shikamaru-kun said he was surprised that you we- omph!" I elbow Lee in the rib to shut him up.  
>"Ahahah don't mind Lee-san, he's just a little dizzy in the head from fighting so boldly." I say. Lee frowns at me.<br>"I do not fight boldly!" Lee exclaims.  
>"Yeah you do!" I say.<br>"No I do not!"  
>"Do!"<br>"Do not!"  
>"D-"<br>"Shut up!" Takashi gushes.  
>"She started it..." Lee says, pointing at me then looking at the ground.<br>"I'm finishing it!" Takashi says. Suddenly, my stomach growls really loudly, then I remember I haven't eaten anything since lunch-time yesterday when I found that apple tree and went nuts.  
>"Who's up for ice cream..!" I question, raising my hand at my own question.<br>"Here here!" Hiromasa exclaims, jumping up and down in joy, then stopping to pant lightly.  
>"Ice cream is not healthy." Lee says. "I would rather have curry! Spicy curry!"<br>I then suddenly had a cool idea. "Spicy ice cream!" I exclaim. Gai-sensei and Lee look at me, a small spark on interest showing in their eyes.  
>"How do you get spicy ice cream.?" Lee inquires.<br>"Well.. Oh oh I know! I know! We could get chilli and grate them and sprinkle them on top!" I suggest.  
>"Yay!" Lee cheer. Gai-sensei nods in approval.<br>"I suppose this spicy ice cream can't be too bad once in a while." Gai-sensei says.  
>"I don't want chilli on mine." Hiromasa says, disgust in his tone.<br>"To my-"  
>"Setsuki darling! You have blood dripping from your head!" Mrs. Saitou screams.<br>"Blood..?" I inquire, turning to face her. I put a hand on the back of my head – I thought the feeling was just sweat. I then look at my hand, it was almost completely covered in blood. "No wonder it still hurts a bit." I say.  
>"Come let me have a look." Takashi says. I stand in front of him and turn my back towards him. Takashi ruffles through my hair to the scar. "Hm it's not too deep, it's not life threatening. A few stitches.. or water will fix this up."<br>"I've been in the water though." I say.  
>"For how long..?"<br>"Few seconds. I think." I say.  
>"Well I think the ice cream can wait. Right now you're coming with me and we're going to fix that wound before it gets out of hand." Takashi says. I look through the gates, seeing the others. Temari and Kankuro looked like they were arguing, Kiba had a bored look on his face and Gaara and Shikamaru were walking silently with slight annoyed expressions. Then suddenly 2 medical ninjas jump down from out of no where a few feet away from the gate – Kakashi-sensei jumps down a second later, carrying someone on his back. Looking closely I recognize it to be Naruto-kun.<br>"Kakashi-sensei..?" I inquire as he walks past. Kakashi-sensei turns his eye towards me. I look around. "Where's Sasuke-chan?"  
>With a very quiet and small sigh, Kakashi shakes his head. I tense up a little. If only I hadn't of fallen unconscious, even if I couldn't stop Sasuke from running, I could have at least followed him and hopefully find Kabuto-kun and save him as well. I look to the ground. Kakashi-sensei keeps walking. "Is Naruto-kun alright?"<br>Kakashi-sensei gives a slight nod. I could tell by his silence that he didn't want to talk about it, so I shut up. Lee looks down in disappointment.  
>"If only I could have kept up.." I heard him mumble. Takashi's loud sigh breaks the silence.<br>"Come on Setsuki." He says, grabbing my wrist. I force a smile to my face and look at Lee and Gai-sensei.  
>"Come over my place in 10, we can have some ice cream then." I say. Lee looks up and smiles slightly, giving a thumbs up.<br>"I will be there, Setsuki-san!"  
>Gai-sensei gives a nod, "Likewise."<p>

We arrive at our house, and I run a bath, filling it ¾, and probably lukewarm. I can't pick up the temperature of water, so it doesn't really matter to me how cold or hot it is. The best part of our small 3 bedroom house is the bath. It takes up half the space of the bathroom, and can fit up to 4 people in it – we tested it. The height of the bath is at my belly button.  
>I strip down and climb in, and lay down in it, my head well underwater. It is big enough for a 7-foot high man to lay in. I watch the water cripple, feeling anesthetised from the pain on the back of my head. The movements of water have always amazed me, and the fact that after all movement ceases, the water becomes calm. If it weren't for the bubbles of air I let out of my mouth every now and then, the water would be dead calm, and the water fills up my ears, decreasing my hearing of the surface. I feel gifted to be able to breathe underwater, because I get to experience all this magnificence. I close my eyes, the silence was comforting. Also the cleansing feeling was another great factor.<br>After a few minutes I feel around the back of my head, looking for the wound, but I couldn't. I came to the conclusion that it had already healed. I sit up and slide to the edge of the bath and rest my arms on the sides and lean my head back a bit.  
>Right when I had just got tremendously comfortable, there was a knocking on the door. I groan. "Setsuki, Lee's here." Takashi's voice calls. I have a mini heart attack and my body moved before my brain it. I tried to get out of the bath, bashed my shin against the side of the bath and faceplanted into the tiles.<br>"Ow!"  
>"Setsuki..? Are you alright?"<br>"YES! I'M FINE!" I shout, then scurry off the cold tiles to grab a towel and wrap it around myself. "Tell Hiromasa to get out of my room!" I call.  
>"Everyone's in your room." Takashi says. I didn't hear him because I was bending over, ruffling my hair with a second towel to dry it off a bit. Little did I notice, the towel was rather.. revealing – covering half of my chest area, and going few inches below my butt. I was in too much of a rush to notice all this, and ran out of the bathroom and into my room, I face out the door.<br>"I'll be out in a minute!" I call, then shut the door, and lock it. I turn around and have the biggest heart attack of my life.  
>Hiromasa, Lee, Daisuke, Susumu and Komaru-sensei were all in my room, Daisuke and Susumu sitting on my bed facing with their legs crossed, Komaru-sensei leaning against the wall at the end of my bed, Lee doing push ups on the ground, and Hiromasa on his futon. My cheeks instantly burn up as they all paused with red faces towards me – except Komaru-sensei, he just buries his head in his hand.<br>Daisuke broke the silence by preforming a wolf whistle, making everyone's, especially Lee's, faces redder.  
>"Alright, everyone out." Komaru-sensei says, stepping on my bed and opening the window. Susumu bolted out of it, Lee followed not even a split second after, Hiromasa had trouble getting up, Daisuke was reluctant. "You two! Hurry up!"<br>"Bu.. fine." Daisuke groans then jumps out. Hiromasa got up and gave Komaru-sensei a stare full of complaint.  
>"I can't just jump out the window." He complains.<br>"Ugh." Komaru-sensei grabs my pillow, takes the cover off it then appears beside Hiromasa, puts the pillow cover over his head. "Now don't take that off." He says, then sits Hiromasa back down.  
>I held back a giggle at Komaru-sensei's humor. "Um.. Komaru-sensei I-"<br>"I'm going don't worry."  
>"No I mean, I don't want him in here.." I say.<br>"I don't wanna be in here!" Hiromasa exclaims then stands up and feels around for the door which is on the other side of the room. Komaru-sensei gestures for me to move, not seeming the slightest bit concerned that I'm practically naked. I move from the door, Komaru-sensei drags Hiromasa to the door and pushes him out, then closes the door, locking it again.  
>"Give us a call when you're decent." He says, not taking his eyes away from the door, then suddenly disappearing. I sigh of relief and walk around all the stuff to my closet. I look in the mirror which is on the inside of the door of the closet – my face looks like a tomato.<br>'_I wonder if this is a blush.._' I look through my clothes, grabbing my normal ninja attire and getting dressed. I put the towel over my shoulders and kneel on my bed and open the window which Susumu jammed shut in fear.  
>"Kay guys.. you can come back now." I say. All except Daisuke were facing away from the house. Daisuke was looking at the window.<br>"NO! Not until you are 100% decent, Setsuki-san!" Lee says in a stubborn tone.  
>"But Lee-san I-"<br>"Nope! Gai-sensei says I am too young to see a female's feminine body!... Without clothing!"  
>"But L-"<br>"I cannot go against Gai-sensei's words of wisdom!"  
>"B-"<br>"No!"  
>I frown slightly, Susumu and Komaru-sensei turn around shaking their heads, Daisuke was already trying to get back through the window.<br>"It's okay boy, she's dressed." Komaru-sensei says to Lee, putting a hand on his shoulder. Lee looks up at him.  
>"Oh?" Lee looks at me. "Well why did you not say so, Setsuki-san..?"<br>"But I.. did.." I say. Lee shakes his head.  
>"No you did not."<br>"Okay fine." I groan, not wanting to argue over whether I could have still been naked or not. I finally move so Daisuke and the others could get in. Komaru-sensei goes to the door when I throws a shuriken at him suddenly. However he caught it between his index and middle fingers. He turns to me questioningly. I shake my head at him and put a hand to the side of my mouth.  
>"Don't let him in." I whisper.<br>"Ah." Komaru-sensei replies then throws the shuriken back at me. I quickly duck as it was headed for my head, and it went straight out the window into a tree. I sweatdrop. Komaru-sensei chuckles and leans against the wall again. I look around at everyone.  
>"... So um.. how come you're all here..?" I ask.<br>"You told us to.. remember..?" Susumu says. Komaru-sensei nods.  
>"You told us to be 10 minutes, I was nine minutes." Daisuke says, winking. I give him a blank expression.<br>"I was actually here for a while. Your family is very kind, Setsuki-san." Lee mentions. I face him with horror.  
>"Don't get lured into the Saitou's trap!" I exclaim. Lee tilts his head. "They are vile and wicked! Don't get too close to them!"<br>"They seem quite polite to me." Lee says, his cheeks turn the softest pink. "They even said I was a great boyfriend, but I do not have a girlfriend, so they are mistaken."  
>"Oh but you do! Or at least, will have." I say. Lee blinks and I give him a thumbs up. "Sakura-chan~"<br>Lee's cheeks turn red and he looks around smiling goofily. I laugh.  
>"Sakura? You mean that billboar-" I slap my hand over Daisuke's mouth to prevent a fight. Lee cocks an eyebrow towards him. Komaru-sensei sighs. I heard tapping on the window and saw Kakashi-sensei.<br>"Kakashi-sensei!" I exclaim. Kakashi-sensei beckons me with his finger, I climb on the bed and lean close to him curiously. He puts a hand beside his mouth and against my ear.  
>"Naruto's in the hospital if you want to see him. He should be awake by now, just.. don't go all at once, he won't want a commotion.." Kakashi whispers. I nod and turn around to face everyone's curious expressions.<br>"Hey guys! Race you to the kitchen!" I shout. Lee stands up.  
>"I will win!" Lee exclaims, then runs to the door, probably expecting it to open, but he took off too fast and smacked into it. I sweatdrop. "I will still win..!" Lee shouts, getting back up like nothing even happened, he then ran out, Susumu and Daisuke run out after.<br>"Water Clone Jutsu..!" I create a clone to run out after them. Komaru-sensei stands up straight, shuts the door and walks over.  
>"What happened..?" Komaru-sensei inquires in a hushed tone.<br>"I'll tell you soon. Setsuki, he's in room 305." Kakashi-sensei says. I nod and jump out the window, headed to the hospital, Komaru-sensei and Kakashi-sensei disappear.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

"Room 305 or 304..? Or was it 306..?" I inquire, wondering the halls of the hospital. I notice Sakura-chan walk out of room 305, wiping her eyes with a smile. "Sakura-chan.." '_You must be so sad about Sasuke-chan..._'  
>"Hm? Oh, hi Setsuki. Naruto's in there if you want to see him." She says. I nod and put a hand on her shoulder.<br>"You okay?"  
>"Yeah, I'm fine." She replies with a sincere smile. I smile back and she starts walking down the hall. I knock and poke my head in through the door. Shikamaru was in there, sitting on the end of Naruto's bed staring at the ground. Naruto, covered in bandages, was looking out the window. Perhaps I didn't knock loud enough because it seems neither of them have noticed me yet. I walk in and shut the door behind me. Shikamaru looks up from the ground and at me.<br>"For someone that was knocked unconscious, you don't seem to have a scratch on you." Shikamaru says. Naruto looks at Shikamaru then at me. I knew that anguished expression of his and immediately felt bad. Naruto looks back out the window. I nod at Shikamaru.  
>"Yeah.. I'm a quick healer." I say, giving a small laugh under my breath. "Besides, my Uncle used to be a doctor."<br>"Ah.." Shikamaru looks between Naruto and I a few times then stands up. "Well I'll let you two talk." He says then heads towards the door. I step to the side allowing him to get out. After he leaves I walk over to the window.  
>"Naruto.. you know, I ain't gonna give up." I say.<br>"It's alright." He says. "I'm going to recover and go after Sasuke. I will bring him back no matter what, dattebayo."  
>I smile slightly and look at him. "I'm coming, believe it!" I say, and give a small giggle.<br>"No." Naruto says, shaking his head. "Too many of my friends got hurt.. I don't wanna see that again. So I'm going to go al-"  
>"I'm coming." I repeat. "Sasuke isn't the only person who needs saving." Naruto tilts his head to the side slightly.<br>"Who..?"  
>I look back out the window silently. "... My cousin... remember..?"<br>"Oh right.. well.. I guess you can come but.. I just don't wanna see you get hurt." He says. I shake my head.  
>"Nah, I just need to get stronger. I wont get hurt easily, I only got injured because I wasn't fighting like I normally do.. you know for some reason, I was fighting with only Taijutsu." I mention, recalling my fight with that Kidomaru guy.<br>"Only Taijutsu? Don't you usually stick with Ninjutsu?"  
>I nod. "Yeah I do.. hm.. I wonder what it is..?" I then look out the window at the cloud and picture Lee's face randomly. I blink it away, my cheeks warmed up slightly. I heard Naruto sniggering and look at him.<br>"It's Bushy Brows and Uber-Brows-sensei isn't it?"  
>"W-No!" I retort, I feel my cheeks warming up.<br>"Haha! It is so! Hey! You like Bushy Brows!" He exclaims, sitting up straight.  
>"As a friend, yeah." I reply, rolling my eyes. "Nothing less, nothing more."<br>"Yeah right." Naruto scoffs.  
>"It's true!" I imply. Naruto shakes his head in disapproval.<br>"S'not."  
>"Why is everyone arguing with me today..?" I question.<br>"Hm?"  
>I fold my arms with a pout and lean against the wall. "Kankuro-kun, Lee-san, Uncle Takashi and now you." I then had a thought, Gai-sensei wasn't at my house, even though he said he would.<br>"W-"  
>"I wonder where he is.." I think aloud.<br>"Who?"  
>"Hm? Oh Gai-sensei." I say.<br>"Oh I heard he went to see that Hyuuga guy." He says. I blink.  
>"Neji-kun?"<br>"Yeah." I look at Naruto.  
>"Where's Neji-kun?" I inquire.<br>"Uhh downstairs I think. He just came out of the emergency room an-"  
>"Emergency room? What happened? Is he okay!" I question. It's true Neji and I don't have a very big companionship, however he's a comrade, and we must care for our comrades!<br>"I don't know what his condition is.." Naruto says.  
>"I'll go find out!" I say, then without another word, bolt out the door.<p>

I run down the corridor and at the same time, keep my hearing open for either Gai-sensei or Neji's voices.  
>"Oh thank goodness."<br>"Gai-sensei!" I exclaim, then run towards the voice. I peer in through the half open door, seeing Gai-sensei standing over a bed. A girl with a long brown hair spread everywhere. Gai-sensei looks over his shoulder towards me, then back at the girl. I enter the room and walk up to the bed, the girl.. was actually Neji. I sweatdrop. But none-the-less he seemed fine apart from a few scratches and cuts and bruises here and there.  
>"Setsuki. Sorry I.. couldn't make it to your house. Once I heard Neji was in the emergency room I had to come see my student. I didn't tell Lee though, I didn't want him to worry." Gai-sensei explains.<br>"Oh. Okay. Well.. we haven't exactly had any ice cream yet, sooo there could still be some left!" I say. Gai-sensei shakes his head.  
>"Nope. You can have it for yourself." He says.<br>"Yay! More for me!" I exclaim. "But is Neji-kun okay?"  
>Gai-sensei gives a single nod. "He's in stable condition. He will be back on his feet in no time."<br>"Yay! That's great news! And Lee-san's recovering too! We'll be able to spar again, right?" I inquire, feeling my heart skip a beat from excitement. Gai-sensei gives a grin and gives me a thumbs up.  
>"You have a great potential in that youthful spirit, Setsuki! Once Lee is fully recovered, the two of you can spar until your hearts' content!" He exclaims. I love the way he gives advice, it makes me feel more optimistic.<br>"Yosh! Then I guess I will see you around Gai-sensei!" I say, then within a moment, jump out the open window.

I felt so much better now, like a ton of stress had just been lifted off my shoulders. '_Thank you. Naruto-kun._' To know that someone will help me on my quest to find Kabuto-kun, it just makes me feel so much happier.  
>I wonder back home, I look in through the window, seeing my Daisuke, Susumu, Lee-san and Hiromasa seeming to be having an ice cream eating competition. My clone was also participating, she's not eating, she's swallowing it.. I swear she is.<br>I stare at the group, a small smile forms on my face. '_I'm so lucky to have friends like these guys._'  
>Judging by the mess and such, it seems my clone is currently in the lead, Hiromasa close behind, then Daisuke, Susumu and Lee were holding their heads with grimaces. It made me giggle. "They have brain freezes." I giggle, I then walk around the house and jump through my window and crawl across my bed then walk out, grabbing the handle to close it, but when I look into my room for that small second, I could've sword I saw something move really quickly from that tree outside my window. I narrow my eyes from interest, and reenter my room, kneel on my bed and scan the area outside. There didn't seem to be anything. "Was probably just a cat." I mutter. I shut my window and turn around and jump at the sight of a silhouette.<br>"What was a cat?" It asks. I scurry backwards on my bed, leaning against the window. I was at a loss for words, I will still frightened by the fact this sudden person was standing there. "Are you alright?"  
>I blink a few times and rub my eyes and look up again, squinting my eyes. "Lee-san?" I inquire, recognising the green.<br>"Oh..! I startled you didn't I! My apologies Setsuki-san!" He says, true concern showing in his large round eyes. I sigh of relief loudly, and hold my hand to my chest, letting the fear escape.  
>"No no, it's fine." I say. Lee walks over to the bed and peers out the window, looking left and right.<br>"Something is bothering you, I can see it." He says.  
>"Oh, I thought I saw a cat or something jump out from that tree." I say. I notice Lee get a small grin. What happened? Did he win the ice cream eating competition or something? Why is he so happy?<br>"No Setsuki-san." Lee says. "What you saw must have been a ghost! Your Uncle said there was one wondering arou- huh?"  
>I immediately cling to Lee, putting my arms and legs around his upper body, literally attaching myself to him. I began to quiver. "G-g-g-ghost..?" I inquire. Lee-san chuckles quietly – I felt his chest move.<br>"Yes. Ghost." He says. I whine and bury my head into his chest.  
>"Don't let it near me!" I cry. My entire body felt tingly and I had already obtained goosebumps. Lee just pats my head while laughing.<br>"I was only kidding Setsuki-san! There is no ghost, in fact there is no such thing! Ghosts only exists in fairytales and myths!" He exclaims. I stop quivering, but remain in my position of latching onto him with my head buried into his chest. "Your friend Hiromasa-kun told me to say that."  
>"Ugh." I groan. I just let my body go limp, and I fall onto the bed. Lee was giving me an apologetic smile, which made me light up inside, it gave me a warm feeling..<br>"Even if they were real, Setsuki-san, I would surely protect you!" He says. I stare into his truthful eyes. The tiniest bit of pink crept out on his cheeks and he breathed out a small laugh. "We are comrades after all."  
>I must have had the biggest smile on my face, because I was feeling really happy right now. I sit up and cross my legs.<br>"Hey!" Daisuke snarls, opening the door up and stomping his way in. I watch with a blank expression as he walks right over and sits beside me. "No stealing my Setsuki-chan!" Daisuke then puts his arm around me, and pulls me into a hug. I suddenly felt awkward. "She's my girl, I'll protect her forever!" He exclaims. My awkwardness left. My attention was then drawn to a conversation I once had with Sakura-chan and Ino.

_We calm down from out laughter, Sakura seemed to have something on her mind.  
>"Hey, speaking of boys.. you know how they're always trying so hard?"<br>"Yeah, now that you mention it, even Choji says he has to get really strong too!" Ino says.  
>"But I wonder why they push themselves so far.. why is that?" Sakura asks.<br>"Well.. I'm not an expert, but Shikamaru-kun once told me something his dad told him." I mention.  
>"What's that..?" Sakura asks, Ino looks at me with the same curious expression. I look up at the sky.<br>"Well he said that it's the boy's job to protect the girl. So.. I think that they push themselves that hard because they have that need to feel strong enough to protect us. But I don't just think it's that. I'm sure it's just normal life, everyone has something special they want to protect right? And the more valuable it is, the more we want to protect it... so I guess that's why they try so hard." I explain.  
>"You have a point there." Ino says.<br>"Since when did you become a wise man, Setsuki?" Sakura inquires with a laugh. _

'_So I guess Shikamaru-kun's dad was right. It's just the idea of protecting something precious._' I then look up an realize, both Lee and Daisuke said they would protect me, and Naruto said he wants to protect Sasuke. "Am I.. valuable to you, Daisuke-kun?" I inquire, looking up from his chest. Daisuke looks down at me, like he was confused as to why I asked that.  
>"Of course you are!" Daisuke says. I look at Lee-san.<br>"Am I, to you as well?" I ask. Lee stares at me for a moment before giving me a nod.  
>"Of course Setsuki-san! Every comrade is valuable to me!" He exclaims. I felt happier now. It's nice to know that I'm admired.<br>"Thank you." I say. "You're both valuable to me too." I stop to give them both a smile and stand up. "I'm really glad I met you both." I say. I then pull Daisuke to his feet, then look over my shoulder, seeing Susumu walk in and over to us.  
>"So what's going on here?" Susumu asks, looking between the three of us.<br>"Same goes for you, Susumu-kun." I say.  
>"What?"<br>"I cherish you as a friend." I say.  
>"Aw shucks." Susumu says, then laughs. I smile and pull them all together, and throw my arms around them as far as I could.<br>"What are yo-"  
>"Group hug!" I exclaim before laughing happily. To my surprise they actually all hugged back. So there we were, four Konohagakure Genin all together in one great big hug of friendship.<p>

Later that afternoon, everyone had to leave, and I was just getting ready for bed when I over heard Uncle Takashi talking to Iku in the kitchen. I heard my name be mentioned, so immediately I wanted to listen. I hid behind the fake pot plant in the living room, the only light that was on was the kitchen light, so they didn't notice.  
>"-ve? Well what do you think she'll do about it..?" Iku inquires. Their voices were a low mumble, but I was close enough to hear what they were saying.<br>"I don't know.. I just don't want her chasing after him.. I fear for her safety." Takashi replies.  
>"But he's your son. You're really ready to let him go?"<br>"He's of age.. but I've gone this long without seeing him since that day.. I'm sure it wont matter whether I see him again or not."  
>"Takashi.."<br>".. I know.. but I can't go out there after him.. and I'm not keen on Setsuki going.. what if something happens to her..? What if she.." Takashi stops to sigh. "I won't have anyone left.."  
>"... I understand.. but what I'm saying is, that he's taken the wrong path. What if he gets worse? What if-"<br>"Don't. Don't talk of my son like that. Kabuto is.. probably just confused. To live this long without anyone, it's not hard to see why. I'm sure if he got to see his old man again, he'd snap right back."  
>I then understood. It's not my role to save Kabuto-kun. It's Takashi's! All I have to do is bring Kabuto-kun back and things will be fine! Just like the old days. I smile to myself.<br>I heard footsteps and stay hidden, hoping not to be found. Takashi walks past the pot plant and to his room. I think Iku went to his room. I came out of hiding and go to my room. Hiromasa was already out like a light, so I grab my backpack and begin filling it with tools and other equipment.  
>"I'll leave first thing in the morning." I mutter quietly, placing the backpack down beside my bed.<p>

When I woke up the next morning I roll onto my side, facing away from the window as the dim light glowed in the distance.  
>"Morning."<br>The voice made me jump up into a sitting position, and I stare wide-eyed at a person sitting on the side of my bed. I trip over my words, and it wasn't light enough to see who it was, but I could tell it was a man from his voice.  
>"You planning on going anywhere today?" He spoke.<br>"E-er.."  
>"Hmmm?"<br>"I-I.. n-no.." I stutter.  
>".. What's wrong?"<br>"Who are you?" I ask.  
>"... Are you serious?" He inquires. "It's me, Takashi."<br>"Ohhhh! Uncle! Er... no not at all, why?"  
>"Then please explain to me, why Hiromasa told me you were planning on leaving first thing in the morning?"<br>"H-he what?" I stutter. I notice Hiromasa wasn't on his futon, was he really asleep last night?  
>"Mmhmm. So where are you going?"<br>I swing my legs over the edge of my bed and use my foot to silently push my backpack under my bed. "To train.. as usual." I answer.  
>"With that big heavy backpack?" He inquires. I sweatdrop, he already knew.<br>"Err.. weights! Yeah! To build up muscles!" I exclaim.  
>"Setsuki.."<br>"I'm telling the truth!" I imply. Takashi sighs and stands up.  
>"Alright. I believe you." He says. "Try not to hurt yourself." He says, giving a small smile, then walking out. I lay back down for a moment and sigh of relief. That was too close for comfort. I feel really bad for lying to him but.. I can't let him know.<br>I reach under my bed, pull out my bad and make sure everything was still in there. It was. I slide it over my shoulder and walk out to the kitchen. Uncle Takashi had already made me some toast, so my thievery skills weren't required. I walk over and eat it happily, then after saying farewell to Uncle Takashi, I leave the house. It's been 4 days, so another 3 days until they leave, and I don't want them knowing about Kabuto's current state.. well Iku knows, but to have either Hiromasa and Mrs. Saitou would freak out.

I head to the gates, when Kotetsu and Izumo raised their voices for once. "Setsuki, isn't it? Going training again?" Kotetsu inquires. I face them with a bright smile.  
>"Yup!" I exclaim.<br>"Haha, always so eager early in the morning. I don't know where you get your energy from. I sure would love to have that much energy at this hour, especially with all the tasks Tsunade-sama has." Izumo says, then they laugh about it. I give them a quick smile.  
>"Well I best be on my way!" I exclaim. They turn to me and give a synchronised nod, a signal that I was clear to go. I thought it was odd that they didn't ask about my backpack, but then again, they probably didn't even pay that much attention.<br>I walk through the gates, pretending to head towards the training vicinity. I got to the small gate that leads to the training vicinity, I look back, noticing no one could see me, then begin running. I had also realized a good idea. Uncle Takashi said he could save Kabuto-kun. If he does, then Kabuto-kun can help rescue Sasuke-chan! I smile at my bright idea. However, I had no idea where I was going.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

It had been a few hours by now, and I was still running. I didn't really feel exhausted, in fact, the more I ran, the more energy I felt.  
>I didn't know how far the village was, but I already knew I'd come too far to turn back now. No one knows where I'm going or that I've even left, so I need to be extra careful not to hurt myself.<p>

I suddenly stop and look around. "Where the hell am I going?" I ask. Sure I was still on the dirt road in the middle of the forest, but I had absolutely no idea where I was going. I probably should've thought about this first. But I can't go back now, all this time would have just been wasted. Upon looking at the sun directly above me, I couldn't tell which direction was North or East. But I did know one thing, I was getting hungry. Unfortunately, I didn't consider this factor, so I had no food on me, and I was still in the middle of the forest. "Great.. heroine Setsuki died of hunger.." I say to myself, then laugh. "That sounds so silly." I continue to walk along the dirt road, hoping I would find a small dango shop or something.

[Meanwhile]

"No, she's not here. She went out training early as she normally does, lad." Takashi says.  
>"Oh. So she's been training since early?" Daisuke inquires, then smiles. "She's so full of determination! It's inspiring!"<br>"Is she still at the training vicinity?" Susumu inquires, blocking out Daisuke's ranting.  
>"Possibly. She hasn't returned home yet. Who knows, maybe that Lee kid found her, they've probably lost track of time, knowing them." Takashi says with a chuckle.<br>"... That slick bastard.." Daisuke grumbles under his breath.  
>"Right. Well thank you sir!" Susumu says. "Come on Romeo." Susumu grabs his teammate by the sleeve of his shirt and begins dragging him to the training vicinity. Takashi chuckles to himself and goes back inside.<p>

"Hey, Lee." Susumu calls. Lee looks over his shoulder at the pair and blinks.  
>"Can I help you?" Lee inquires.<br>"Have you seen Setsuki?" Susumu asks. Daisuke kept glaring at Lee.  
>"Setsuki-san? No, not today. I am sorry. Did something happen?" Lee inquires, now getting a serious face.<br>"Not that we're aware of, but we haven't seen her all day." Susumu says.  
>"YOU SLICK BASTARD YOU KNOW SOMETHING!" Daisuke scowls.<br>"Daisuke!" Susumu gushes. Lee flinches slightly.  
>"I-I apologize.. I have not seen Setsuki-san at all!" Lee exclaims.<br>"Hmph!" Daisuke storms away grumbling.  
>"Ngh.. idiot.." Susumu groans, frowning at his teammate. "Do you have any idea where she'd be then?"<br>"N-not a clue. S-sorry." Lee replies, giving a quick bow. Susumu sighs.  
>"Fine.. thanks anyway." He says before leaving to continue searching.<p>

I sigh. The road ahead seemed to stretch on forever, and the scenery never changed. I look up at the tree tops, beginning to be fascinated in how tall they actually are. 

As the day went on, I my mind began to wonder back home. I wondered what everyone would be doing now. I still had no idea where I'm going, but then I just thought of the best idea!  
>I grin and bite my thumb and do a few hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu!"<br>Keahebi poofs within a smoke cloud. He looks around, I swear he's gotten even bigger, just the slightest bit.  
>"Keahebi!" I exclaim, making the snake's head snap to my direction.<br>"Ssssetssssuki... why have you ssssummoned me?" He inquires.  
>"I need your help!"<br>"... With..?"  
>"I need to find Orochimaru's base!" I say, making his head flinch backwards.<br>"You want to do what?" He gushes.  
>"I gotta! To save Kabuto-kun!" I exclaim.<br>"No! You cannot go there!" He says.  
>"Why not?"<br>"It'sssss dangerousss!"  
>"I know! I'm prepared though!"<br>"What if Lo- Orochimaru findssss you?"  
>"Then I'll.. I'll fight him! I'll beat him up!" I say.<br>"Don't talk sssso big. You cannot defeat a Sssannin!"  
>"I gotta try! Please Keahebi! You gotta show me the way!" I plead.<br>Keahebi fell silent, as though pondering. After a moment, Keahebi sighs through his nostrils. "I will guide you there... but you cannot expect me to help you fight Lord- er.. Orochimaru. I refussse to fight a Sssannin."  
>I nod. "Yosh! That's all I need! Thanks Keahebi, you're the best!"<p>

Eventually, nightfall came. I was still following Keahebi. I thought we'd never leave the forest, it seemed to go on forever.  
>"Nnngh.. my feet hurt... I'm starving.." I groan, my shoulders slumped.<br>"Sssstop complaining. If you want to get there, then we mussstn't ssstop now."  
>I frown. "How much further is it?"<br>"If we keep going during the night, no breaksss.. we sssshould be at Otogakure by midday." Keahebi replies.  
>"Travel... allllll night?" I question.<br>"Do you have a problem..?"  
>"I can't keep going all night without something to eat! It's still kinda light enough to find something." I imply, though the only light in the sky was the moon, but it was blocked by the trees.<br>"No, we'll keep going through the night and ressst before we get there."  
>"Why? I'm getting tired.. can't we rest over night? Please? I'll get up early! I promise!" I exclaim. Keahebi sighs through his nostrils.<br>"Fine.. it had better be early." He says. I grin and look around.  
>"Just gotta find something to ea-" I was cut off by my own stomach rumbling. "Ngh, I'm starving."<br>"There'sss a river clossse." Keahebi says.  
>"Which way?" I question. Keahebi points his head left, and I run that way. Sure enough, I found a river about 10 minutes later. I cannonball into the river – any fish that were sleeping, my splash woke them up. They swim all over the place, now I just gotta catch some.<p>

I managed to catch one in the darkness, but barely. I was lucky. I cooked it and ate it for dinner, whatever I didn't eat, Keahebi had the rest. I then lay down against a tree and fall asleep, ready for anything thrown my way tomorrow!

The moment a ray of sunlight touched my face, my eyes snap open and I jump to my feet. "YOSH!" I shout, I look up to the sky and notice the sun us only just beginning to rise. Keahebi lifts his head up slowly from his coiled position. I felt purely energised. I jump in the river straight away, the fish were out and about, and I sped through the water, almost like a water jet. Oh how the water felt so good and lively!

Eventually I got out, when the area had lit up from the sun. Soaking wet, I walk over to Keahebi, grinning big – for no particular reason.  
>"Had you fill of fun..?" Keahebi inquires, as though annoyed.<br>"Fun? That was just to release some energy!" I exclaim, though I still felt like I could run for miles.  
>"... Well let usss be on our way then." He says. I nod and follow as he slithered along the ground.<p>

Keahebi was right, it was about midday when we arrived there. Otogakure. It was just across the border of the Land of Fire. It was filled with dark, flattened grass, the trees drooped and a lot of vines hung from them. Still no signs of any buildings or anything yet. I notice too, the ground was like marsh in small spots here and there. Keahebi seemed to enjoy it though.  
>"Might want to watch your ssstep.. thisss place isss the ideal place for sssnakesss to live.." He says.<br>"Eh-" I immediately freeze on the spot, my leg still in the air, about to tread on a coiled red snake. I slowly lower my foot away from it. "Now you tell me.." I groan. I was now watching the ground while walking, I'd look up every 5 minutes or so, and come face to face with a tree every now and then..  
>I didn't like this place, it had a dark gloomy feel to it. As we got further and further through the marsh parts, there were more and more trees.. and cob webs everywhere, and I mean everywhere! I was beginning to regret coming on this journey in the first place.<br>"The ssspidersss are mossstly in the treesss." Keahebi says. I sigh of relief.  
>"So I just have to stay away from the trees." I say, talking aloud to myself. I stopped on the spot and looked around for a moment. "How do you know where you're going? This place is really dark because of the trees!" I say, squinting my eyes.<br>"I cannot sssee. I have sssenssesss.." Keahebi says.  
>"What? You can't see at all!" I question, now amazed.<br>"... I can sssee infrared.. but that'sss it." He says.  
>"What's that?" I ask, stepping over an odd looking hole in the ground.<br>"... You ssshould really learn to sstudy. I'm not going to be a tutor right now." He says.  
>"Right! We have more important things to take care of!" I exclaim. I then felt something small and hairy touching the back of my leg. I look to my leg, seeing the biggest spider I've ever seen in my entire life, I scream at the top of my lungs. Keahebi immediately strikes at it, swallowing it in one gulp.<br>"Quiet human! You'll draw attention.." Keahebi hisses.  
>"Wh-where did that come from?" I question.<br>"From the underground burrowsss."  
>"B-but you told me spiders live in the trees!" I whine.<br>"That wasssn't a sspider. I-"  
>"It looked exactly like a spider!"<br>"It wasss a tarantula."  
>"...Eh?"<br>"Move along human, we don't have time for thisss."  
>Keahebi kept going, and so did I, hopping around, staying far from those weird looking holes in the ground. I was really scared right now, my heart felt like it was in my throat. I can't fail at bringing Kabuto-kun back, because I don't want to come here ever again.<p>

The bushes and small shrubbery got bigger as we went on, and because of the denseness of this place, it felt like it was midnight, there was barely any light and it was very hard to see. Then I heard a small tinkling sound, water?  
>"We mussst be careful from now on." Keahebi says randomly, slithering through a thorny shrub. My eye twitches. '<em>What do you think I've been doing this whole time?<em>'  
>I kicked a rock buried in the soft mud I've been walking on for the last 15 minutes, and almost tripped over.<br>"Becaussse of the rockss.." Keahebi says.  
>"Yeah.. I figured that.." I say, picking myself up straight again and continuing to manoeuvre around this impossible place. "Isn't there like a path or something somewhere?" I ask.<br>"Yesss.. there'sss a cobblessstone path that leadsss directly into the village.. however if we were to go along that we'd be caught immediately. It isss heavily guarded." Keahebi explains. I frown in disappointment.  
>"Well.. how much further is the village?" I ask.<br>"Over there.."  
>"Wha? Where?" I question. Keahebi stops on the other side of a bush, a vertical cliff-face. My eyes widen and I move back a bit. I've never been so afraid of heights in my life. It was such a long way down, and there was a small waterfall a few meters away, which would have been what I heard before.<br>"Come and look, don't be ssso ssscared." Keahebi hisses. I crouch down on all fours and slowly crawl to the edge and peep over.  
>Down at the bottom was a small river, diving a large bit of land, a big wooden bridge over the river, and quite a few wooden buildings – like a tiny village. But there was something odd about it. There was no one walking about down there. It looked abandoned.<br>"And.. Kabuto's down there..?" I ask.  
>"Could be.."<br>"Eh? What do you mean _could_ be?" I question.  
>"Hussh!" He hisses. "Your voice will echo down there.."<br>"... Still, we came all this way.. and you're saying he _could_ be there?" I complain.  
>"Well I'm not certain.. he could alwaysss be out on a misssion or sssomething like that."<br>"Ngh.. So how do we find out?" I ask.  
>"We have to ssneak around down there."<br>"And... how... do we get down there.." I ask, as if afraid of the answer. Keahebi nods his head towards the cliff. My eye twitches. "W...we're not... going... to.. jump... down.."  
>".. Yesss... we are.."<br>I gulp.  
>"I-I don't wanna jump.. not down that far.."<br>"It'sss only a few metersss... what are you sscared of?"  
>"Few meters? That's like a mile!" I exclaim. Keahebi sighs and shakes his head.<br>"Then how do you sssupposse we get down there..?"  
>I think about it for a minute then look over my shoulder, and blink a few times, then smile.<p> 


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

"Down that waterfall!" I exclaim.  
>"Are you kidding? What about the sssplassh when you hit the bottom..?"<br>"Pfft. There wont be any splash! I can turn into the water, it'll be easy!" I say. This was all feeling so convenient now.  
>"What..?"<br>I hold my arm out. "Come on." I say. Keahebi shook his head.  
>"No, I have my own way down. I will meet you down there.."<br>"Kay!" I reply. I jump to my feet and run to the waterfall, tuning into water I flow down the waterfall with ease.

Once in the river, I reform and poke the top half of my head out of the water and look around. It was dead silent, apart from the sound of crickets and the croaking of frogs. '_I wonder where Keahebi is.._'  
>After seeing the coast is clear, I sneak out of the water and stand up against a nearby building, and scan the area again. I don't know what it is.. but there's something eerie about this place that puts me on edge.. It's a feeling like there's danger lurking around each corner, a deadly presence.. It sent shivers down my spine.<br>I want to call out to Keahebi, but that might be a bad idea. '_I should just let him find me.. but in the meantime.._'  
>I step out from behind the building, there was a cracked cobblestone path linking to each building, and to the bridge. I quietly move around, avoiding the path, walking around behind buildings, Kabuto has to be around here somewhere... at least, I hope he is.<p>

After a few hours I had explored every corner of this place, there was no one in sight, and I was hungry. I wasn't so worried anymore, knowing there's no one around, I walk along the path – being a village there has to be some sort of food somewhere.  
>Unfortunately I couldn't find anything. I sigh, I turn around to keep looking when a silhouette scared the crap out of me, making me jump.<br>"... Who are you.." The person spoke, their cold tone scared me enough to take a step back. "... Konoha ninja... you're not welcome here.."  
>"..E..er... I-I'm only here b-because I'm looking for someone!" I imply, hoping the person won't attack me.<br>"..Who exactly...?"  
>"... Kabuto.."<br>"Kabuto.. what business do you have with him?"  
>"I.. I just wanna see him.. coz.. I need to.. uh.. t-tell him something!" I say.<br>"Whatever reason you have, it's invalid.. you have trespassed on enemy territory. You deserve punishment. As for Kabuto, he's not here.. he's training that new brat.."  
>I whine inwardly in fear, and he pulls a kunai from his pouch. I draw my katana, seems I'm not gonna get out of here without a fight.<br>"You're going to fight back..? Interesting.. so I might get a little amusement from this."  
>"Er.." I really had nothing to say, but I had to swallow my fear and toughen up. I grip the handle tighter.<br>"Die.." The person steps forward and lunges the kunai towards my chest. I quickly step to the side as quick as I could, getting the edge of my arm slices instead. I knee the guy's rib as hard as I could, making him cringe, then as he lowered, I held my katana at the back of his neck. He paused in that position, as if waiting for something. ".. Are you going to kill me?" He finally asks.  
>"No... but.. I have to defend myself.." I reply.<br>"Big mistake.." He said. My hand twitches as I thought something major was gonna happen. ".. for a shinobi not to kill their enemy.. it is a big mistake.." He then suddenly turned around, whacked the katana out of my hand, then held the kunai to my throat – all within a split second. A gasp, and my eyes widen. "However, I don't think this is the place to spill blood.." He smirks.  
>I quickly grab his wrist and remove his aim from my neck, then put a lot of pressure on his shoulder while pulling his arm.. I heard a loud crack, and he cried out in pain. Breaking bones wasn't something I'd normally do, but I had no choice. I jump backwards.<br>"Bitch! I'll have you pay dearly for that!" He scowls. I just watch him carefully, trying to determine his next move. He bent down and picks up the kunai, then throws it at me. I jump back again, dodging it. In the light, I could see his Otogakure headband on his head clearly, his dark brown hair and lavender eyes. What caught my attention was a scar across his cheek, and his somewhat burly figure.  
>I heard a rumble in the sky, I look up for a brief moment, grey clouds rolling in.. this could work to my advantage. I put my hands together in a jutsu sign.<br>"Water Style: Rain Jutsu!" I exclaim. Rain began falling from the above clouds.  
>"What good will rain do... it will just slow you down.." He says.<br>"Wrong!" I exclaim.  
>"What?"<br>I run like lightning towards him, punch under his jaw and sent him upwards into the air. I wait until he comes back down and punch his gut, slamming him into the ground. He grunts.  
>"You think.. rain is going to save you!" He questions. He puts his hands together, and performed a few hand signs. "Ninja Art: Lightning Dragon Tornado!"<br>A flash of lightning appeared, followed closely by a loud clap of thunder. I look up, seeing a giant dragon seemed to be made out of lightning. I gulp, Lightning Ninjutsu is my major weakness. I look down, I'm soaked... this is bad. The dragon's roar echoed then it came to strike down at me. I jump backwards, doing a few flips, just to get away. But it was sending small electrical sparks off it, one which tapped my arm, and it felt like the tip of a searing white hot needle. I yelp in pain.  
>"Trembling from a mere spark? Heh, I'd love to see the full impact!" He shouted. The dragon came at me again. I couldn't fight this.. I began running, fleeing from the battle.. however the dragon, and the Oto ninja chased me.<p>

Before I knew it, I was back in the marsh-like terrain, jumping over logs and hidden tree branches, dodging snakes and spiders, scraping my arms and tearing small holes my pants on the thorny bushes. I just hope none of them are poisonous.  
>Suddenly I felt a very sharp, stinging sensation in the back of my right shoulder, followed by a warm feeling, something dripping down my back. I wince greatly and yelp, tripping on a log from the immense pain. The rain was making the soft ground even softer, and muddier and slippery. I tried to get back up, but my arm kept slipping against the ground, the pain was becoming unbearable. My right-hand bicep was becoming numb from the pain. I grip my shoulder tightly, unable to get up. The Oto ninja jumps down beside me sniggering. I couldn't see or hear the dragon, but I still wondered if it was nearby.<br>"Well, you're fairly easy to target.." He says as he kneels down, another kunai in his hand. A loud clap of thunder echoes through the trees. My heart was racing, and I could barely open my eyes from the excruciating pain I'm in. "Look's like it's almost gone through you.. amusing." He scoffs. I couldn't bring myself to speak. When I opened my eye I saw a bolt of lightning hit a tree right above us. I try and struggle to my feet as the branch cracked loudly, and began creaking, slowly breaking. It was still very slippery, but I did manage, barely.  
>"It is very amusing watching you struggle." He says, like he was completely oblivious to it. As soon as the trunk snapped from the root, it fell very quickly. I went to run but after the third step I slipped, my coordination was thrown off because of the pain and numbness. It landed with a loud crash, and that's all I remember before blacking out.<p>

"Hey.. miss.. wake up..! Please miss!" The voice echoes through my head, I can't recognize that voice.. who is it? Who's calling out to me?  
>I slowly open my eyes, curious of the voice. Then pain stuck me from my shoulder, making me cringe. "Ahh! Oww!" I whine.<br>"You're awake!"  
>I grip my shoulder, it was bandaged. I then notice.. the only shirt I have on is a transparent fishnet t-shirt. My cheeks burn up and I look around for something else to wear. I notice a shredded blue cloth and hold that in front of my chest. Although the bandages do cover my breasts, I still felt over-exposed. It was then that I thought of the voice. I look up and see someone kneeling beside me. A boy, possibly 17-18. Dark brown hair and soft lavender eyes.<br>"Who.. are you?" I ask. The boy opens his mouth to speak but no words came out, he paused to think for a moment.  
>"I... don't actually know.." He says, scratching his head but then cringes. "Oww.. forgot about that bump.."<br>"Bump? Let me have a look." I say. The boy blinks a few times and turns his head, showing me a dark bruise on his head. "Ahh, that looks painful." I say.  
>"So does yours." He says. "But yours isn't as big as mine.. at least, I don't think it is." He says. I feel around my head, then wince. I could feel a fairly large bump at the back of my head.<br>"What happened?" I ask. He shrugs.  
>"I don't know.. I just woke up and saw you unconscious, and you had a nasty wound in your shoulder.. and I'm sorry about your shirt... it was ripped and I accidentally tore it when I pulled you out from under that giant log." He says, his cheeks turn slightly pink as he looks away from my gaze.<br>"Where are we?" I ask, finally noticing our dark surroundings.  
>"Oh, I saw this big hollow tree, and it was raining so I put us both in here until it stopped.. but as you can see, it's still raining outside." He says, moving out of the way to the hole in the tree, the rain was pouring. I sit up slowly and sit against the rough bark, I could feel every bit of it's texture against my back with this shirt, I may as well be topless, it would make no difference. I continue holding the blue material which he called my shirt, against my chest. I felt really cold, bringing my knees to my chest and hugging them. I rest my chin on my knees and stare out.<br>"Are you cold? Here, have my shirt." He says then takes his shirt off, revealing a well toned set of abs, and many scars, most likely battle wounds, but I couldn't help but admire them.  
>I take his shirt and put it on, it was warm from his body heat, however, only being a t-shirt, my arms were still cold. "Thank you." I say.<br>"Don't mention it.. erm.. what's your name..?"  
>I give a blank expression. "My name..? Er.." I began to think, but my mind was blank. "I.. don't know.." I say, feeling awkward about it. '<em>What is my name?<em>' I thought maybe there might be something on me that has my name. I look down to my pants, small holes were ripped in it everywhere. I rummage around my pockets, and pull out the first thing I felt. A permanent marker. I tilt my head in curiosity, then putting that aside, I continue searching. Nothing, I try my other pocket, and pull out a pocket knife. I squint my eyes at the carving in it – Suki .  
>"Suki?" I think aloud.<br>"Huh?"  
>"I think that's my name, Suki."<br>"Oh, well nice to meet you Suki." He says. I nod.  
>"I think we might have lost our memories.." I mention.<br>"Yeah I know."  
>"Oh hey! We should come up with a name for you until you remember yours!" I say. He faces me with a nod.<br>"But what..?"  
>"Hmm.." I stare at him for a moment thinking. "How about.. Daisuke!" I suggest.<br>"Daisuke?"  
>"Yeah! It means you're a great help!" I say then smile.<br>"M-me?"  
>I nod. "Yeah, you fixed up my wound right?"<br>"Well.. I bandaged it.."  
>"So Daisuke it is!" I say. He shrugs then nods.<br>"Yeah alright." He looks out the hole, staring into the rain. We fell asleep while waiting for the rain to stop.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40  
><strong>

By morning I was wide awake, the rain had stopped, but it was barely light. I crawl out of the tree slowly and stretch, trying to bear the pain in my shoulder. I look around, I don't recognize this marsh-like terrain. I yawn loudly and scratch the back of my neck.

Daisuke and I explored the area, looking for a way out, until eventually we found a cobblestone path. "Which way should we go?" I ask.  
>"I dunno. Lets go this way." Daisuke says, pointing down to the left.<br>"Kay."  
>I follow him as he begins walking. That's when I notice a peculiar mark on his shoulder. "What's that?" I ask, poking it.<br>"Huh?" He looks over his shoulder at me. "What's what?"  
>"That." I say, poking it again. He tried to look at it, but he couldn't get on the right angle.<br>"What?"  
>"It's a mark of some sort." I say.<br>"Like what?"  
>"I feel like I've seen one like that before..." I shrug. "Oh well."<br>"What mark?"  
>"I dunno, I'm not sure what it is." I say.<br>"Now I'm freaked out." He says.  
>"Do I have one?" I ask, trying to look at my shoulder.<br>"Not that I saw." He says. "Hey what's that?"  
>"What?"<br>"It looks like a gate of some sort." Daisuke says, pointing to a gate ahead. It seemed to have a small fence made out of white sharp things joined with rope, and the gate was a standard wooden gate, with a skull on it. We both look at it all curiously. It seemed to lead off into a few more trees then a grassy field in the distance.  
>"It sure looks more happy out there than this place." I say.<br>"Yeah, I have to agree with you ther-" Daisuke stops, as if frozen.  
>"Daisuk-" I turn and freeze in fear. A giant serpent, looking down on us like prey.<br>"I-I've never seen a snake get so big.." Daisuke stutters. The snake opens it's mouth hissing in a hostile way.. we were lunch.  
>"We gotta get out of here!" I exclaim.<br>"Don't leave without me!" Daisuke shouts, ramming through the gate. I follow close behind as we sprint away.

Once out of the murky area, and into the clear air in some sort of forest, we stop running, stopping to pant. Not from exhaustion, but to release fright.  
>"That.. was too close.." Daisuke pants.<br>"At least.. we found.. a way out.." I reply.  
>"Agreed.. hey, it's quite warm here." Daisuke stood in a ray of sunlight, smiling. I smile back and look around.<br>"I wonder where we are.." I say.  
>"I dunno, but I like it here. Much more bright and peaceful." He says.<br>"But we can't stay here, that snake might still be on our tail!" I mention.  
>"You're right. Lets go." He says, then begins running. I follow close behind.<p>

It had ben a few days since then, we lost track, but I'm guessing around three or four days. Daisuke and I had found a small town, and were sharing a small motel room. Inside it were two futons either side of the room, a desk, and a small TV with poor reception. The flooring was creaky wooden floorboards, and the walls were made of wide wooden planks, with small chips and carvings embedded in them. Then on one of the walls was an averagely-sized window, it squeaks loudly when it opens and closes. There were broken blinds in front of the window too. Between the futons was a tiny heater, the kind with metal rods that heat up and a fan that blows the heat out. If we wanted the room warm at night, we'd have to turn it on early in the evening. However, the worst part were the cobwebs in the corners of the roof. I hadn't seen any spiders since we started living in this room, but the webs made me paranoid.  
>Currently, I was adjusting the small antenna on top of the TV trying to get a clear picture, I also tried turning knobs and flicking switches on it. Daisuke was laying on his futon watching.<br>"Hit it!" He kept saying, but no matter how many times I'd hit it, it still would refuse to work.  
>"You try!" I say, about to give up.<br>"But I'm comfortable." He says. I sigh and sit back down on my knees, staring at the fuzzy grey screen, and listening to the scratchy sound.  
>"Then no TV!" I say, and crawl across the small room on my hands and knees to my futon, and collapse on it lazily and pull the covers up and close my eyes feeling warm and comfortable.<br>"Fine! I'll get the darn thing working!" Daisuke exclaims, sliding his way over to the TV on his butt, moving by pushing his legs across the ground. I open an eye, wanting to watch him struggle. Daisuke unexpectedly punches the top of the TV box firmly, causing a loud thud, then the TV flickered and a clear picture showed, the sound was slightly scratchy but the voices were still understandable. Daisuke gets a smug expression and slides back over to his futon and gets comfy again. I laugh slightly and roll my eyes, then watch the TV.  
>The picture was a normal sepia tone, and it seemed to be a movie. It had three young boys running around a farmhouse playing with chickens. The storyline of that movie were the boys grew up and were reunited by a natural disaster and had to try and prevent a bad guy from destroying the world. As the night progressed on, I ended up falling asleep by the end of the movie. I didn't see whether Hiro, the main character, managed to beat Tawaru, the bad guy.<p>

"Suki.. Suki wake up!"  
>"Huh! I'M AWAKE!" I shout, jumping to my feet, then suddenly feeling the coldness. I whine and lie back down and pull the warm covers over me. "Why is it so cold?" I complain. Daisuke shakes his head.<br>"We gotta get up though!" He says. I shake my head repeatedly.  
>"No no no no no! It's way too cold!" I groan.<br>"Well maybe you should reconsider about wearing singlets and small boxer shorts to bed." He says with a small smirk. I raise an eyebrow, noticing his expression was a perverted one. I slide the covers up over my face so only my eyes show, and I stare at him cautiously.  
>"Well.. it's all that was in my bag..." I say quietly. Daisuke sniggers and leans over me, freaking me out.<br>"When you speak in such a low tone, it's kind of cute." He says. I shiver slightly.  
>"E-er..." I could only stutter, I didn't like this at all. He then stands up and walks towards the door laughing.<br>"Get dressed, I'll meet you outside." He says, then walks out. I sigh of relief, however I was reluctant to get out of bed, it was way too cold. I lazily reach over and grab my bag and slide it over towards me. I look through it, then I saw a green suit of some sort. I'd never seen anything like it.. but it was kinda cool. I decide to get up and put it on, I then notice a pair of orange leg warmers, they seemed thick and soft. I put them on too, they warmed up my legs quite well. Upon walking towards the door, I couldn't help but notice how easy it was to move around in it. Suddenly, I felt like I just had déjà vu, have I.. worn this before?  
>I blink a few times then shrug it off, and walk out the door, meeting Daisuke at the end of the corridor.<br>"The hell is that?" He asks.  
>"I dunno, but it's pretty comfy." I reply.<br>"It's pretty ugly." He says, putting his hand in his pocket.  
>"Well I like it!" I huff, folding my arms. Daisuke rolls his eyes and walks out the exit of the building, I follow. The streets were quieter than usual, even though it was only a small town, it was still rather quiet. "So what are we doing today?" I ask.<br>"Well I'm hungry, so we'll go get some breakfast." Daisuke says.  
>"Mmmmm breakfast." I chime. We walk past a stand selling pies. I smell the delicious aroma coming from them. Next thing I know, Daisuke holds one out to me, and takes a bite of one in his other hand. "W-what the?"<br>"Eat up. They wont stay hot forever." He says, using his tongue to catch the meat falling out of his pie.  
>"You can't just take hem! You gotta pay!" I exclaim.<br>"With what? Neither of us have any money." He says.  
>"Then we have to earn some, I mean, we need to pay the rent on that room we're living in!" I say. Daisuke looks at me.<br>"We don't need to." He says.  
>"But it's the right thing to do! We have to!" I exclaim.<br>"No, we don't have to. If they try and force us, then we'll just murder them." He says, then takes another bite. I stop, he looks over his shoulder and stops too. "What?"  
>"You can't murder people!" I say, astounded by his words.<br>"Why not? If we do we wont have anyone chasing us. Simple." He says with a shrug, and takes a last bite of his pie and licks his fingers clean. I felt uncomfortable about him now.  
>"But what about their families?" I ask, starting to walk again, but slowly. Daisuke sighs and shakes his head.<br>"Too bad for them aye." He says. "It's their mistake. Mistakes have consequences."  
>"But... killing is too far.." I say, my voice trailing off to a quiet mumble. Daisuke grins and puts the other pie in my hand.<br>"You sound shy, as I said it's cute." He says. He seemed really different today, than normal. I edge away from him, but continue walking beside him. I remain quiet and nibble on the edge of the lid of the pie. "Huh- Suki get back!" Daisuke says suddenly, pushing me behind him.  
>"What is it?" I question, trying to peer over his shoulder, but he was too tall.<br>"Fucking Konohagakure ninjas.." He grumbles with disgust. I didn't like his language, but I couldn't do anything about it, and Konoha ninjas? "Suki go hide over there, I'll kill them." He says, pointing to a building. I nod and run over, hiding behind he wall. Though I wasn't going to hide completely. I peek my head around the corner and watch as three Konohagakure ninjas approach Daisuke. One seemed to be a Jonin, he has dark brown hair and matching eyes. The other two were shorter, maybe my age. They were both blonde boys. "Hey you Konoha brats!" Daisuke shouted out, capturing their full attention. Daisuke reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handful of shuriken. The trio of Konoha ninjas got into a defensive stance.  
>Daisuke threw the shuriken at them, however they all dodge and run at him, except for the blonde one with his hair tied up. He got down on one knee and made a form with his hands and watched Daisuke closely. Three against one isn't fair, I wanted to go out and help Daisuke. I quickly ate the pie, wiped my mouth on my sleeve and watched the situation.<br>Daisuke gave a heavy punch to the other blonde boy's stomach, causing him to cringe, then Daisuke reached up and grabbed the Jonin's throat as the Jonin was about to drop kick him.  
>"You let him go!" The blonde boy demanded, getting back up.<br>"Susumu hurry up!" The Jonin shouted. Something in my mind clicked.  
>"I'm trying Komaru-sensei!" The blonde boy on one knee shouts, sweat dripping from his forehead. '<em>Komaru.. Susumu... where have I heard those names before..<em>' I stare at the trio, their faces didn't seem familiar at all.  
>"W.. what the... I can't move..." Daisuke stutters. The blonde boy stood up, and opened his hands. Daisuke copied those movements, putting the Jonin down. Did they have Daisuke trapped in a jutsu?<br>The other blonde boy began scowling at Daisuke. "How dare you attack us like that you ungrateful bastard! I'll tear your head off!"  
>"Your bark is louder than your bite.. idiot." Daisuke scoffs.<br>"Daisuke!" I shout out, running out to them. Both the blonde boy and Daisuke's attention snaps to my direction. "I'll save you!" I exclaim, running to the boy.  
>"Setsuki!" The boy shouts. I stop running, I don't know what he just said, but he didn't seem hostile towards me. He actually walked up to me and tried to hug me. I push his arms away. "Setsuki? What's the matter? It's me, Daisuke." He says.<br>"No! Yo.. what?" I look back and forth between this boy and Daisuke. Daisuke grimaces at the boy.  
>"Thank God we found you." The Jonin says, also walking over to me. I take a step back. "Your uncle has been worried sick! Where have you been!" He questions. I don't think I have been so confused in my life.<br>"Suki-chan, you look so confused..?" The boy 'Daisuke' mentions.  
>"What..? How do you know who I am?" I ask.<br>"Come on, stop fooling around." The boy says.  
>"I think it's amnesia, Daisuke." The Jonin says.<br>"Komaru-sensei!" The other boys shouts. "I can't hold him!"  
>The Jonin turns around, Daisuke was moving very slowly, as if he was under pressure.<br>"Alright, I got him Susumu. You guys go and take Setsuki and head home. I wont be too long." The Jonin says. The blonde boy with his hair tied up nodded and seemed to release a jutsu. Daisuke ran at him, but the Jonin jumped in and pinned him to the ground.  
>"Get off me you asshole!" Daisuke scowls, trying to get his hands together. " Ninja Art: Lightning Dragon Tornado!" Suddenly black clouds roll in overhead, followed closely by thunder. My hand twitches as a giant lightning dragon comes down from the sky. Suddenly, I remember, everything. I take a step back. Daisuke, my teammate, grabs my wrist.<br>"Come on Setsuki, I'll explain everything on the wa-"  
>"LETS GET OUT OF HERE!" I shout over the top of him and begin sprinting, dragging Daisuke along behind me. Susumu ran over and runs beside me, well tried to.<br>"Have you got your memory back?" Susumu asks. I nod.  
>"Yup! And I'm glad I did! Now we really have to run!" I exclaim.<br>"Where the hell did you go!" Daisuke questions. "We have been worried sick!"  
>"He thought you were dead!" Susumu exclaims, pointing at Daisuke.<br>"Did not! You did! I would never think something so horrible to my Suki-chan!" Daisuke retorts.  
>"You told me yourself, baka!" Susumu gushes.<br>"Why would I, Yamanaka Daisuke, wish for something so terrible to my, beautiful Godess, Kuromizu Setsuki?" Daisuke gushes.  
>"YOU-... ugh.. forget it." Susumu grumbles.<p>

Minutes later we stop running and look behind us. "You guys think Komaru-sensei is okay?" Daisuke asks.  
>"What kind of insult is that?" A sudden voice behind us says. We all jump and look behind, Komaru-sensei was standing there with his arms folded.<br>"So you are alive!" Daisuke exclaims. Susumu groans and facepalms. Komaru-sensei flicks Daisuke's head.  
>"So tell us Setsuki, where the hell have you been these past few days?" Komaru-sensei inquires. My eyes wonder.<br>"Well... I went out training... and got distracted.." I begin, trying to conjure up some sort of lie.  
>"How? Tell me every detail." Komaru-sensei says. I scratch the back of my neck, it seemed rather itchy lately.<br>"That guy back there! He's an Otogakure ninja, and he was hiding around the training area, so I went after him to bring him to justice.. and well we got in a massive fight, and this tree-" I stopped to spread my arms out as if gesturing the size of the tree. "MASSIVE tree fell on top of us, and when I woke up I couldn't remember a thing and neither could he.. so um yeah.." I put my hands behind my back after I finish talking.  
>"..Mmhmm.. is that so?" Komaru-sensei inquires.<br>"Yup!" I reply. Komaru-sensei sighs and starts walking.  
>"Fine fine, come on then." He says. Suddenly tight arms wrap around me from behind.<br>"I'm so glad you're okay, Suki-chan!" Daisuke exclaims, rubbing his face into my shoulder. My eye twitches.  
>"Um.. thanks?" I respond and try and break out of his grip, but he wouldn't let me go.<br>"Come on Romeo." Susumu sneers, then grabs Daisuke's ear and pulls him off, following Komaru-sensei.  
>"Ow ow ow ow! Susumu! Dammit! Ow ow! Let go!" Daisuke gushes. I laugh and follow along.<p>

"Well at least you're safe." Takashi says, then gives me another big hug. I close my eyes and hug back.  
>"I'm really sorry Takashi.." I say in a low voice.<br>"I don't want you chasing after Kabuto, okay." He says. I was about to argue when Komaru-sensei gave me a look to say shut up, so I kept my mouth shut and gave a reluctant nod.  
>"I'll leave you both now." Komaru-sensei says, starting to walk to the door.<br>"Thank you Komaru-san." Takashi says. Komaru-sensei gave a nod and walks outside, to Daisuke and Susumu. I sigh quietly. "Are you hungry?"  
>"Yeah." I reply.<p> 


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41  
><strong>

The next day I awake early and headed straight for the training vicinity. This time no running off until I know I'm strong enough. I saw Gai-sensei and his squad there, Lee doing push ups, Tenten and Neji-kun both still seemed half asleep. Gai-sensei seemed like he had dropped something and was looking for it. I smile friendly and approach them.  
>"Good morning Setsuki-san!" Lee exclaims, first to notice me. He jumps to his feet, then suddenly hugs me tightly.<br>"Mo- ngh, too t-tight!" I exclaim, trying to take in air.  
>"Oh, s-sorry Setsuki-san!" Lee says while immediately letting go. "We have been so worried!"<br>"I know.. I heard.." I reply, scratching my arm.  
>"Where is it.." Gai-sensei grumbles to himself, carefully scratching his head, trying not to mess up his majestic hair.<br>"What's Gai-sensei looking for?" I ask, quietly. Lee got a serious face and leaned in close to my ear and whispers.  
>"I... don't know..."<br>"Okay.." I whisper back. "Should I ask him?"  
>"No.." Lee whispers, his head still close to mine, I could feel his body-heat.<br>"Okay... Hey Gai-sensei! Wha-" Lee whines and slaps his hand over my mouth.  
>"Shh!"<br>"Huh?" Gai-sensei looked in my direction. "Setsuki? Is that you? Where'd you go?"  
>I talk while Lee's hand still covers my mouth, however my words were incoherent. Gai-sensei blinks. "Lee, please take your hand away from her mouth."<br>"But Gai-sensei.. I fear that she will say something.." Lee says, his voice trailed off at the end trying to think of a word.  
>"Well of course she's going to say something!" Gai-sensei exclaims.<br>"Bad.." Lee concludes.  
>"What?" Gai-sensei asks.<br>"I fear she will say something bad!" Lee says.  
>"What would I say that's bad?" I question, though with his hand still over my mouth, my words were a muffle. I was getting annoyed by it. While Gai-sensei started an argument with Lee, I lick the flesh of Lee's fingers, he tenses up. Slowly, and unsurely, he moves his hand away, and he faces me with a creeped out expression. I return a blank expression and shrug.<br>"What's wrong?" Gai-sensei inquires.  
>"You licked me!" Lee says.<br>"Your hand was there!" I mention.  
>"But.. but you licked me!" Lee complains, his voice high pitched in astonishment.<br>"I was going to lick the air, but your hand was in the way!" I exclaim.  
>"Why!" Lee questions.<br>"Because.. Because I wanted to!" I say, my own voice getting higher.  
>"But! …. But my hand!" Lee whines, looking at his hand which he still hasn't wiped.<br>"It could be worse!" I mention. Lee blinks, I then notice Neji and Tenten anime fall.  
>"What do you mean?" Lee inquires.<br>"We-" Tenten and Neji suddenly tackle me to the ground, both their hands covering my mouth. Again, my cries of struggle were muffled.  
>"Tenten! Neji-kun! What.. are you doing?" Lee inquires.<br>"Nothing!" Tenten exclaims with a fake smile and giggle.  
>"Nothing at all.." Neji said, trying to make me stop moving. My muffles became louder, until eventually one word could be heard clearly – 'Help'.<br>"This.. must be a youthful hug of reunion!" Gai-sensei exclaims, suddenly he runs over and pounces on top of the three of us. We grunt from the sudden weight. They were so heavy! "Come on Lee!" Gai-sensei calls.  
>"..! Right!" Lee exclaims, then literally cannonballs on top.<br>"Get off you morons!" Neji hisses. I felt I was getting crushed, there was no way I could move.  
>"I FOUND THEM!" Gai-sensei screeches suddenly, making us all cringe, Lee fell off the top.<br>"WAH-omph!"  
>"What is it Gai-sensei!" I question. Gai-sensei jumps off, the three of us all take in a deep breath. I never expected them two to be so heavy!<br>Gai-sensei bolts away from us, we blink in confusion. Neji and Tenten both get off, and I sit up, suddenly a hand at my face. I look up, Lee was offering his hand, grinning goofily. I laugh and take his hand while he pulls me to my feet.  
>"Where is Gai-sensei going?" Lee asks.<br>"How the hell should I know what that looney is doing?" Tenten grumbles.  
>"Maybe he forgot something." I mention.<br>"Maybe. Setsuki-san." Lee says, facing me again, his eyes locked dead into mine. I blink, maybe even slightly intimidated. "What were you going to say before?"  
>"What?"<br>"When you said it could be worse, what exactly did you mean?" He asks, pulling out a small book and pencil, but not taking his firm eyes away from mine. I blink.  
>"Er, well I was gonna say, I-"<br>Tenten suddenly slapped her hand over my mouth. "Don't be disgusting!" She gushes. I blink, why doesn't anyone want to hear me speak today? I grab her wrist and pull her hand away from my mouth and look at her confused.  
>"I was going to say, that I could have bitten him, that's all." I say. Tenten's (and Neji's) face turns pale, her fringe covers her eyes like she was embarrassed. She muttered something under her breath, but I couldn't hear it.<br>"I have such a dirty mind.."  
>"Bite? Were you going to bite me?" Lee questions, his eyes wide like a puppy. It was so cute!<br>"No!" I whine. "I would never bite you!" I exclaim, my eyes becoming soft from the cuteness. His small sad expression disappeared, turning into a shining smile.  
>"That is good!" Lee says, putting his book away.<br>"What is that?" I ask, pointing at the book.  
>"Oh, it is my notes from Gai-sensei." He explains.<br>"Oooh! Cool!" I exclaim.  
>"THESE!" A loud voice roars, then suddenly a crash in the ground between us, scared the life out of us. We both scream and jump backwards. Gai-sensei was standing there, his arm in the air as though he just dropped something. We relax a little and walk back over. We look to the ground seeing metal sandals.<br>"What are they G-Gai-sensei?" Lee stutters, still recovering from the fright. My heart was still pounding.  
>"Yooosh!" Gai-sensei gives Lee a thumbs up, his fist an inch away from Lee's face. "These are my ultimate, flawless, one-of-a-kind, training shoes!" He exclaims. "I guarantee you'll never find a pair quite like this!"<br>"One-of-a-kind? Really?" Lee exclaims, all excited.  
>"Hey, wait a minute." Tenten says, observing them.<br>"Flawless?" I exclaim, now amazed.  
>"What is it Tenten?" Gai-sensei asks, frowning because she was not in awe.<br>"I saw those at the market on the way here. They were on clearance, half price." Tenten mentions. Gai-sensei growls loudly.  
>"Tenten.. be quiet.." Gai-sensei grumbles.<br>"Is.. is that true, Gai-sensei?" Lee inquires. Gai-sensei blinks then chuckles.  
>"No no no, of course it's not true! Tenten just doesn't know what she's talking about!" Gai-sensei says. "She lacks the youthful mind, you see."<br>"Ohh." Lee replies. Tenten growls and gets an anime vein.  
>"BAKA! I KNOW I SAW THOSE AT THE MARKET!" She shouts.<br>"Now now Tenten." Gai-sensei says calmly.  
>"NO!" Tenten shouts, swinging a punch to Gai-sensei who easily caught her fist. Tenten went to swing another punch with her other arm. Gai-sensei sighs and puts his palm on her forehead, keeping her out of range. She swings her arms violently while shouting at him, however Gai-sensei showed no interest at all.<br>"As I was saying!" Gai-sensei shouts over the top of Tenten. "I am giving these to you, Lee! I want you to train with them! Each shoe weighs precisely 20 lbs each! They will help you with muscular training in your legs!"  
>"Ooh! I see! I see!" Lee says, full enthusiasm and excitement in his tone. I wanted to try them!<br>"20 lbs.." Tenten grumbles under breath, then scoffs, she then shakes her head.  
>"I WANT TO TRY THEM ON!" Lee squeals, jumping up and down.<br>"Wait, Lee! There's more! I al-"  
>"THIS IS SO EXCITING!" Lee shouts, he grabs my hands and jumps up and down. I blink, but being overwhelmed by the excitement, I giggle. "WE SHOULD BOTH TRY THEM!" He exclaims.<br>"Yeah!" I concur.  
>"Lee." Gai-sensei groans.<br>"WE'LL BOTH BE STRONG!"  
>"YOSH!"<br>"Lee!"  
>"I AM GOING TO BE SO MUCH STRONGER!" Lee exclaims.<br>"LEE!"  
>I look at Gai-sensei, but Lee was still jumping up and down shouting. "I WILL BECOME SO STRONG!"<br>"QUIET!" Gai-sensei screams at the top of his lungs, then suddenly punches his student in the face, knocking him straight off his feet. Lee whimpers and scurries backwards in fear, rubbing his now bruised cheek. I take a step back, keeping my mouth shut. "Now listen to your sensei's awesomeness!" Gai-sensei says in a firm voice. Lee quickly scurries onto his knees and bows to him.  
>"Yes Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaims, looking up at Gai-sensei.<br>"The action doesn't stop with these sandals! Lee! I also have special weights for you to wear at the same time!" Gai-sensei exclaims, pulling out a pair of leg weights from his Jonin jacket.  
>"Can I have a pair? Please Gai-sensei!" I plead. Gai-sensei looks at me, a keen look in his eye.<br>"So, you think you have what it takes to wear leg weights, Setsuki?" Gai-sensei inquires. I grin largely and nod repeatedly.  
>"Yes! Yes yes I do Gai-sensei! I really do!" I exclaim.<br>"I am sure she does, Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaims. Gai-sensei grins.  
>"Well that's excellent!" Gai-sensei exclaims. "Because! Right here.. is a second pair!" Gai-sensei exclaims, pulling out, yet another pair, identical to the last pair he pulled out.<br>"They were also on that stand, Gai-sensei.." Tenten mentions.  
>"Nonsense Tenten! These are genuine leg weights! They cannot be found on such a common store from the market, Tenten!" Gai-sensei exclaims. Gai-sensei passes me one pair of the leg weights, and the other pair to Lee. I'm so glad I'm wearing my green training suit today!<br>"But! They were! I saw them!" Tenten snatches one of the weights from Lee and examines it closely.  
>"Hey! That is mine!" Lee says, trying to get it back, unsuccessfully.<br>"LOOK! This circular pattern right here! These are the same ones I saw on the st-"  
>Gai-sensei put his hand over Tenten's mouth and talks over the top of her.<br>"She was dreaming! She saw it in a dream! That's the truth!" Gai-sensei exclaims.  
>"That must have been quite a dream, Tenten!" Lee says, taking his leg weight back.<br>"Now, pick up the shoes Lee! It's solo training today!" Gai-sensei declares.  
>"Solo? Can I train with Lee? Please!" I plead.<br>"Hmm... very well! Setsuki, Lee you two will stay put! I will take these two off elsewhere! They need more training!" Gai-sensei exclaims.  
>"Hey!" Neji and Tenten huff with a fit of pique.<br>"Well it's true! You two are not nearly as youthful as these two! You both refuse to wear my ultimate training suits, therefore you need double training!" Gai-sensei shouts.  
>"Do not! I'll have you know, Neji is the strongest person on this team!" Tenten gushes.<br>"ONWARD!" Gai-sensei shouts over the top of her, and begins marching, pushing both of them off with him. Once they were out of sight I turn back to Lee, sitting on the ground, taking his shoes off.  
>"I even have weights for my wrists too!" He says. "I will be as strong as Gai-sensei!"<br>"No you wont!" I say, sitting down. Lee grimaces at me.  
>"I w-"<br>"You'll be stronger!" I exclaim, giving a thumbs up to him. Lee blinks a few times, his cheeks turn slightly pink and he gets a small smile.  
>"Y-you think so?" He asks. I nod repeatedly and move my hand closer to him. He smiles fully and scratches the back of his head.<br>"Th-thank you Setsuki-san!" He cries. I smile big, and put the leg weights on and remain seated until he had the shoes, leg weights, and wrist weights all on. He jumps to his feet, fire in his eyes. "Lets do this!" Lee says, clenching his hands into fists. I stand up and take a step back, my legs were incredibly heavy. I should have thought about this..  
>Lee begins punching the air, then moves around in all different poses. Once his foot touched the ground, a small crashing sound and dust rise up from the ground. Once the dust cleared, there was a rather large dent in the ground.<br>"Lee.." I mutter.  
>"Yes, Setsuki-san?" Lee inquires, continuing his various poses.<br>"... Please don't kick me, if we spar." I say.  
>"Huh?" Lee looks at the ground and sweatdrops. "I.. I wont hurt you Setsuki-san! I would never!"<br>I don't know why, but a smile came across my face, and I felt slightly shy for a moment. I then heard footsteps in the water, I turn my head to see Naruto carrying three unconscious people on his back, slowly heading back to the village. I tilt my head. Lee's eye twitched at the sight.  
>"No! Not yet! I am stronger than that!" Lee shouts to Naruto, who apparently wasn't paying any attention. "Setsuki-san! Come at me!" He says. I nod.<br>"All right!" I reply, then run at him.. very slowly. It was hard to move my legs. Lee seemed like he wasn't even going to try. I attempt to swing a punch, he caught my wrist easily. I tense up waiting for the counterattack... Nothing. I open an eye, Lee was standing up straight, one hand behind his back, the other still had hold of my fist. I blink.  
>"You look confused..?" Lee mentions, tilting his head tot he side.<br>"I was.. waiting for the counterattack.." I say.  
>"Oh." Lee shakes his head. "No, I will not attack someone with a handicap." He says, lifting his head up with pride. I blink.<br>"Really?"  
>"Mm! I told you a short while ago, I will not hurt you." He says. There it was, that shy feeling again. "I will allow you to get accustom to these weights, then we shall spar!" He exclaims. I nod, liking the sound of his idea.<p> 


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42  
><strong>

"Lee! Setsuki!" Tenten calls.  
>"WAH!" I was barely able to dodge Lee's punch as Tenten's sudden shout from nowhere distracted me. I fell on my back, Lee looks over to Tenten then at me.<br>"Ah! Setsuki-san, forgive me!" He says, extending his hand out. I take it and he helps me to my feet. I brush the dirt off.  
>"It's okay. What's up Tenten?" I ask.<br>"Tsunade-sama called out for us Lee, we have an S-rank mission!" Tenten exclaims.  
>"S-rank! That is excellent news!" Lee exclaims.<br>"I want to come!" I complain.  
>"Oh, sorry Setsuki, it's just our squad." Tenten says, then sighs. "And Naruto."<br>"Naruto-kun? Er, well alright, lets go then!" Lee says.  
>"... I'm still coming!" I say. Lee smiles whereas Tenten frowns.<p>

We head to Tsunade-sama's office, Neji, Naruto and Gai-sensei were already there. "Ah now you're all here. I trust you know this mission I am assigning to you is an S-rank?" Tsunade-sama inquires.  
>"Yosh! We are fully prepared, Tsunade-sama!" Lee exclaims, fire in his eyes.<br>"Hm, good. I want to start off by sayin- Setsuki? What are you doing here?" Tsunade asks.  
>"I want to come on this mission.." I reply. Tsunade shakes her head.<br>"No, this is only for Team Gai, and Naruto." Tsunade says. I reach into my shopping bag (I did a little quick shopping on the way to her office) and pull out some hot fresh dango and place it on her desk, smiling. Tsunade stares at it for a while, Shizune sighs. "And you." Tsunade finally says, extending her arm out to grab one of the sticks.  
>I nudge Lee with my elbow. "I told you that would work." I mutter.<br>"You obviously know more about Tsunade-sama than me, Setsuki-san." Lee mutters back. I giggle quietly.  
>"Tsunade-sama." Neji says. "I saw Naruto carrying three men on his back, what was that about? Has it anything to do with our mission?"<br>"As a matter of fact, yes, yes it does." Tsunade says. "You see, the three that Naruto brought back are three he rescued. They have a mission request from Katabame Kinzan. Katabame Kinzan was a prominent small river village, but about six months ago, some strangers who call themselves the Kurosuke Family snuck in. They took over the town, and it seems that the people in the village are being killed without any reasons." She explains.  
>"How awful!" Lee says.<br>"Your mission is to escort those three back to their village after they've recovered, return to Katabame Kinzan, and get rid of the Kurosuke Family. It's a simple mission, since it's just a bunch of hoodlums who want money." Tsunade explains.  
>"Why'd you call me for such an easy mission?" Naruto grumbles. Tsunade's eye twitches.<br>"Who the hell do you think you are?" Tsunade gushes.  
>"I'm busy with searching for Sasuke and training!" Naruto exclaims. Tsunade grabs the collar of Naruto's shirt and pulls them face to face over the desk.<br>"A low-standing genin, who butts into missions he wasn't called for, doesn't get to pick his missions!" Tsunade gushes. "Do you want to be sent back to the academy? Huh?"  
>I blink, she sure is one scary woman. "Hyuuga Neji!"<br>Neji flinches and stands up straight. "Yes!"  
>"You are the team leader." Tsunade says, throwing Naruto at him. "Watching over that idiot will be good training for you!"<br>"I'd rather not, but understood." Neji replies. Tsunade-sama got a visible anime vein. Naruto pushes off Neji and walks towards the door.  
>"I'm going to train more." Naruto grumbles. I bite my lip.<br>"N-Naruto-kun..!" I call, chasing after him, Lee follows close behind. The other two follow shortly after.  
>"Wait!" Lee exclaims. I look at him. "I forgot something from Gai-sensei!" He exclaims, then runs back.<br>I blink, but continue walking alongside Naruto. "What's up Naruto? You look irritated." I mention.  
>"Ugh, Ero-sennin's not back, and my missions are lame." He groans. "It just sucks, dattebayo!" He stops walking to stamp the floor, but then he gasped and let out a contentious laugh. He runs out an arch leading outside to the balcony, I follow. Sakura-chan was standing there. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto calls. "What's wrong?" Naruto asks. I walk over curiously. She was holding a small bird, unwrapping a bandage from it's left wing.<br>"A bird? What happened?" I ask.  
>"I found it yesterday and tried to treat it." Sakura answers, putting the bandage in her pocket. The bird spread and flaps it's wings. Sakura put her other hand over it, and this strange green aura glows around her hand. The bird then flew off.<br>"Ooohh... Sakura-chan! You gotta teach me!" I exclaim.  
>"I feel sorry for it though, it got separated from its friends." Sakura sighs. We watch the bird fly away, but then it joined and flew around with two other birds. We all smile at each other.<br>"Naruto-kun! Setsuki-san! There you are!" Lee's voice calls behind us. We all turn around.  
>"I'm sorry. Did I interrupt?" Lee asks, looking between Naruto and Sakura.<br>"Big time." Naruto groans. Lee blinks then shakes his head really fast.  
>"No, no, I can't turn the other way!" Lee says, getting a fist. "That is forbidden in the Springtime of Youth! …. Sakura-san, good afternoon." He says, suddenly becoming normal again. I really had no idea what just happened, so I just stood there smiling. Sakura laughs slightly as Lee walks over.<br>"Haha, good afternoon." Sakura replies.  
>"So what did you come here for?" Naruto grumbles.<br>"I need to talk to you about something." Lee says, walking over, he grabs Naruto's sleeve, and my wrist, then suddenly bolts down the stairway.  
>"WAH!" I cry, almost tripping over a step.<br>"Sakura-san, goodbye!" Lee calls, running faster, Naruto's arm swung around and hit me, making me fall over. Lee dragged us both down to the bottom like rag dolls.  
>"W-wait a minute! What the hell are you doing?" Naruto questions, trying to stay on his feet.<br>"I said, I need to speak to you both!" Lee says, dragging us along the dirt path.

Lee finally stops at Ichirakus, and of course, we all order a bowl. He began telling us about a conversation between Tsunade and Gai-sensei.  
>"What? The Kurosuke boss is one of the Seven Shinobi Lords?" Naruto questions.<br>"Yes. It is Gai-sensei's big scoop, and we respect him deeply!" Lee exclaims, stuffing down some noodles like a vacuum cleaner.  
>"What's the Seven Shinobi Lords?" Naruto asks. Lee looked like he was just hit by a mallet.<br>"Naruto-kun! You said you fought the ninja in the Wave Country, didn't you?" Lee says. "That time.."  
>"Ah! Zabuza! So?" Naruto replies. Lee turns around on his seat facing Naruto.<br>"And the guy Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei fought, Hoshigaki Kisame, I've heard the you've met him." Lee says.  
>"Yeah. I know him!" Naruto exclaims. I felt a shiver down my spine.<br>"Hoshigaki Kisame.. that freaky shark guy?" I ask.  
>"You know him as well?" Lee asks. I nod.<br>"Then that means less explaining for me! Now, it seems that the two of them belonged to Kirigakure's group called the Seven Shinobi Lords. At that time, the man who was with Hoshigaki Kisame was.."  
>".. Oh! That Itachi guy! And?" Naruto replies.<br>"You still do not understand?" Lee inquires. "If Raiga is one of the Seven Shinobi Lords, then there might be some relation to Uchiha Itachi and Kisame who was with him."  
>"Ohhh! … And?"<br>"... And who was chasing after Itachi?" Lee inquires, staring bored-like at Naruto.  
>"I know! Sasuke!" Naruto exclaims. Lee gives him a thumbs up and big grin.<br>"That is right!" Lee exclaims. "We might get a clue to Sasuke's whereabout in Katabame Kinzan!"  
>"But, since Gai-sensei said that..." Naruto says, his voice trailed off and he began slurping down his ramen. Lee punches the table.<br>"Please do not say such rude things!" Lee huffs. "Those are facts you can believe in one hundred percent!"  
>"Mmhmm.." Naruto groans.<br>"... So when do we leave?" I ask. Lee head butts the table. I blink. "What?"

An hour later we all met up at the village gates, ready to go, as well as those three people we had to escort back.  
>"We are now going to escort Rokusuke-san and the others to Katabame Kinzan and attack the Kurosuke Family." Neji explains.<br>"My friend's shop is near Kinzan." Lee mentions. "Lets make that our staging area."  
>Neji nods.<br>"A friend's place?" Tenten asks.  
>"You will see when we get there!" Lee says, smiling.<br>"To change the subject, Naruto is late." Neji groans.  
>"What are you talking about? He's right he-" I stop and blink. "Er... never mind.."<br>Tenten sighs. "He might not trust what Gai-sensei said." She says.  
>"That shouldn't be the case!" Lee says. "Naruto-kun will definitely come! That is because Gai-sensei's information is correct."<br>Neji frowns at Lee. "Either way, it's fine." Neji says. We look at him for a moment.  
>"Tada!" Naruto shouts, jumping down from out of no where. "Now everyone's gathered. Lets go!"<br>"You think you can say that?" Neji huffs.  
>"Come on!" Naruto calls, marching off. He then stops and walks over to us. "So.. which way is it?"<br>Neji groans loudly.

It took about 5 hours of walking, but I believed we were close. Lee, Naruto and I were walking behind everyone else.  
>"I remember..." Lee says in a dazed tone. ".. this sleepiness... it's close.."<br>"Sleepy? Are you sleep-walking?" Naruto asks.  
>"Shh! If he's sleep-walking, you mustn't wake him!" I exclaim.<br>"No no, I am okay." Lee says, his eyes seemed to be struggling to stay open and his head kept moving up and down, like he was fighting sleep. "During training, I ran a marathon on this road for three days while sleep-walking."  
>"Yeah, yeah.." Naruto groans, not believing him.<br>"It's true. It was a Springtime of Youth miracle with Gai-sensei. My body still remembers it. I have become sleepy."  
>"Hey, Fuzzy-brows, are you really okay?" Naruto asks.<br>"Yes. There is a fragrant curry smell around here..." Lee says, closing his eyes finally.  
>"Curry?" I inquire, sniffing around.<br>"Now that you mention it.." Naruto says, sniffing around.  
>"YES! IT'S OVER THERE! IT'S THE CURRY SHOP OF LIFE!" Lee suddenly shouts, pointing ahead, full of life. I squint my eyes, about a kilometer away was a building. "SANSHOU-BAASAN!" Lee screams, bolting off ahead. We all run after him.<br>"Oh my. It's you!" An old lady exclaims, standing outside of the building.  
>"It's been a long time!" Lee exclaims, picking her up and swinging her around. It made me giggle.<br>"Huh? That's lee's friend's place?" Tenten inquires.  
>"Over there. That mountain is Katabame Kinzan." Rokusuke says, pointing to a mountain in the distance.<p>

We all head inside for some curry, Sanshou gave us all a glass of water while she cooked. Lee continued telling us about that time. "Thanks to Sanshou-baasan's curry, my life was saved."  
>"Huh? The curry's that good?" Naruto inquires.<br>"Yes. It really is a life-saving curry." Lee says. "Around the time I became a genin, Gai-sensei was teaching me offensive and defensive moves."  
>"Yes. That's right, isn't it? I remember." Sanshou says, stirring the pot. I was wondering around the kitchen observing all the ingredients, but I could still hear every single word. "You both ran past while sleeping! Haha! Oh my! The curry is ready everyone!" I bolt out to the table and sit down grinning. Sanshou serves us all a plate with rice and black oozing and bubbling curry. My eye twitches.<br>"Yes! This is the Curry of Life!" Lee exclaims. "Now! Since Sanshou-baasan put all her effort into making this, lets eat! Itadakumasu!" Lee began eating like some sort of starving animal. Everyone else was reluctant to try it. I shrug and scoop a bit up and stick it in my mouth, "It's so good!"  
>I blink, the spices.. the flavor.. the.. heat.. "WAAAHHH IT'S TOO HOT BUT IT'S SO GOOD!" I exclaim, and begin eating it all quickly. It felt like my tongue was on fire and it burned.<br>Everyone else took a bite, their faces turn bright red and they scream. I blink in confusion. They fell over and Neji looked like he was going to pass out.  
>"A-Aahhh n-need drink.." Tenten stutters.<br>"This is brilliant! The spices all blend together perfectly!" I exclaim.  
>"May I have some more Sanshou-baasan?" Lee inquires, holding his clean empty plate out to her. I look at Lee competitively. Was he challenging me to an eating competition? Lee looks at me, then my empty plate, then gets the same look. We both take in a deep breath and hold our plates out.<br>"Give us all the curry you've got!" We both say in unison. Sanshou laughs and takes our plates. Lee and I stare at each other, the same competitive expressions. Sanshou serves us two more plates, each. Immediately, we grab one plate and begin eating as fast as we possibly could. No one I know can eat as much spicy curry as me!

41 Bowls later, Lee and I were tied. We both felt full and my mouth felt numb, I couldn't even feel my tongue, it's like it had been on fire for so long and burned my entire mouth. I was wondering if Lee felt the same. Tenten, Neji and Naruto-kun were all staring at us two, disbelief in their expressions.  
>"Oh.. I'm afraid I've only got enough left for one more plate." Sanshou says, looking in the big pot over the stove. I hold my stomach, I was so full. Lee raises his hand, also holding his stomach, his face was pale, mine probably was too.<br>"I-I will take it." Lee says.  
>"No.. me!" I manage to exclaim. Sanshou looks between us both.<br>"Hmm.. well I suppose you could both share the plate, and whoever eats the most of it, wins!" Sanshou says. Lee and I met eyes, sparks were created by our competitive stares.  
>"This is a joke. There is absolutely no way they could possibly fit any more in!" Neji complains.<br>Sanshou put the plate down between us. We both grab our spoons.  
>"Steady~... Go!" Sanshou exclaims. We both dig our spoons into the curry and eat.<br>Until there was one spoonful left. I felt like I was going to be sick, I had eaten way too much. Lee fell, putting his head against the table groaning in pain. '_Just... one... more.._'  
>I slowly move my spoon to the plate, leaning on my elbow on the table for support.<br>"Noo.. I cannot losee.." Lee groans, watching. My spoon touches the curry. Lee put his hand on my arm, I stare at it curiously. Then suddenly he pushes me over, I landed on the floor.  
>"Ow.. Leeee that's cheating!" I complain. I quickly sat back up on my knees. Lee was holding the plate in an embrace, extending his tongue out to reach the remaining bite. I frown and try to lift my leg to kick his side just hard enough to push him over, however, I now remembered I still had the leg weights on. I couldn't find the strength to lift my leg. Instead I stretch my toes out and poke his thigh. That did absolutely nothing. I could lift my arms though... I smirk and put my hand on the bottom of the table and lift it up the slightest bit. I could hear the plate slide.<br>"No!" Lee exclaims. I put the table back down.  
>"It's mine!" I exclaim, commando crawling under the table. I was surprised that I could actually fit under this small table. I reach up and grab the plate and bring it down to the floor in front of me.<br>"No it is mine!" Lee calls, I then felt something grab my foot, the next thing I know, I was being dragged back under the table to the other side rather quickly. I didn't get to grab the plate.. Lee suddenly let go of my ankle and fell on top of me.  
>"Omph!" I grunt.<br>"Where is the plate!" He questions.  
>"Well isn't that a suggestive position.." Tenten says with a laugh. We both ignore her, however.<br>"It's over there!" I exclaim, pointing under the table to the plate on the ground. Lee then tried to crawl over me, then under the table, but I hug both his legs. "No!"  
>"Yes! I must!"<br>"No!"  
>"YES!"<br>"NO!" I pin him to the ground and crawl over the top of him. Lee then flips around so he's pinning me down instead.  
>"YES!" He screams, reaching his arm out for the plate.<br>"NO!" I scream back, randomly tickling his side.  
>"Y.. a... ahaha... ahahha Setsuki-san! S- ahaahahah stop it! Ahahhaa!"<br>Who would have thought he'd be so ticklish. "You will not get that last bite!" I exclaim.  
>"Yes- hahahahaha I will!" He laughs. As he was laughing I quickly crawl to the plate and eat the last bite.<br>"Hah! I beat you!" I exclaim. Lee pouts.  
>"I.. I cannot believe it! How did you win! You must have some sort of secret strategy!" Lee exclaims.<br>"No! I am just talented!" I exclaim. Lee gets anime tears.  
>"What will Gai-sensei think.." He whines, then shivers at the thoughts. He stands up and slams his hand on the table. "I demand a rematch!"<br>"Rematch? You look like you could pass out at any moment!" Tenten exclaims.  
>"Yeah Bushy Brows, you look really pale." Naruto mentions.<br>"There is no way possible you could fit any more in your stomach." Neji says. I climb out from under the table and sit beside Lee again.  
>"They're right." I say, resting my head on the table, feeling over-full. Lee turns to me, a stern expression on his face.<br>"You are only satisfied because you won!" Lee exclaims.  
>"Lee! I have an idea!" Tenten says. "For the both of you."<br>I lift my head and we both look at her, the same curious expressions.  
>"You two could be like Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei. Having those challenges to prove who's better!" She suggests.<br>"Oh lord.." Neji grumbles under his breath, shaking his head. "More chaos.."  
>"Tenten! That is a brilliant idea!" Lee exclaims.<br>"Starting from now.. it's 1-0, in Setsuki's favor.." Tenten says. Lee stands up and points at me, while holding his stomach.  
>"I disagree!" He says. I turn my head to look at him.<br>"We should start it from a while back. When we first met! That spar we had, you won Setsuki-san. That is 1 point. Then those games of Shogi in the hospital. I won all three games. That is 3 points to me. Then just now, you won. That is another point." He says. "Therefore the score is, 3-2, in _my_ favor!"  
>"Lee that's chea-"<br>"I agree!" I exclaim, sitting up straight, gripping my stomach tightly.  
>"Great now they're going to be more of a nuisance with thinking up challenges for each other every day." Neji grumbles, folding his arms with irritation. Lee and I exchange competitive stares.<p> 


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43  
><strong>

We all sat back down again at the table. Sanshou took all the plates and put them in the sink.  
>"By the way, I do not see Karashi-kun." Lee says. Sanshou sighs slightly.<br>"Karashi, after seeing you training so hard, became a happy and energetic boy. But then he became too energetic and left the village. Perhaps it was my fault by saying he should be stronger all the time. He said, '_I will become a man! I will enter the Kurosuke Clan!__**'**_" Sanshou explained. We all cringe, and Lee hits the table. "Oh! I'm not blaming you, you know." Sanshou says. "You don't have to worry."  
>"It is my responsibility." Lee says, glaring at the table as if remorseful.<br>"You know I-"  
>"Neji-kun!" Lee shouts, raising his hand to the air. "Please add Karashi-kun's retrieval to our mission! Let us bring him back from the clutches of evil!"<br>"Okay." Neji replies. "Lets make this place our meeting point. After observing the town, lets make a plan and put it into action."  
>"Hai!" Lee exclaims.<br>"I would like you guys to stay here." Neji says, looking at Rokusuke and the others. "It'll be troublesome if you are discovered by the Kurosuke Family."

That night we all bunked in a spare room, Lee, Naruto and I sat on the floor playing cards, Neji stared out the window, and Tenten was sharping kunais sitting on the only bed in there.  
>"Good move.." Lee says to Naruto.<br>"Yeah well, I don't just watch Ero-sennin ya know." Naruto chuckles.  
>"It's terrible!" We hear shouting from the other side of the door, followed by pounding on it. The door slides open, one of Rokusuke's friends was there with a panicked expression. "Rokusuke... Rokusuke disappeared!" He exclaims. We all gasp. "He most likely went to the village on his own!"<br>"That's awful!" Tenten exclaims, standing up.  
>"Yosh! We must find him at all costs!" I exclaim jumping to my feet.<br>"And we must be hasty! If he gets caught then Rokusuke-san will.." Tenten's voice trailed off.  
>"If that's the case," Naruto says, standing up. "then we have no time to come up with a proper plan. We just have to go and attack!"<br>"No!" Lee says, standing by the doorway. "Lets destroy them!"  
>Neji nods in approval. "Lets hurry." He says.<p>

We all bolt out towards the mountain where the village is located, we sprint along the rocky path, then jump down a very steep rocky cliff face, and hide behind some large boulders. We were looking down at a very large building.  
>"That looks like Katabame Kinzan." Naruto says. "So, lets take care of the Kurosuke Family in one swoop before we save Rokusuke-san and Karashi!"<br>"Naruto, don't get too hasty." Neji says.  
>"Then what should we do?" Naruto asks.<br>"I'm curious about what Gai-sensei said." Lee says, looking in that small notebook.  
>"The boss of the Kurosuke Family might be one of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen!" Naruto says. "We don't know what's happened to Rokusuke-san!"<br>"But Gai-sensei's info doesn't seem to be right.." Tenten says. Lee suddenly glares at her.  
>"What are you saying? That's absolutely not true!" Lee shouts, he then went to tackle her, when I tackle him first.<br>"Lee! Calm down!" I shout.  
>"How can you say that Tenten?" Lee questions.<br>"Calm down, Lee!" Neji hisses. Lee opened his mouth to say something else but I slap my hand over his mouth. "For now, we'll stake things out."  
>"Alright!" Naruto says.<p>

We locate a tunnel from where we were hiding, and as we were watching, people, mostly elderly, were walking in and out with large loads of rocks hanging over their shoulders.  
>"Hey, that guy over there doesn't look so well." Naruto mentions, pointing to an elderly fellow, carrying a rather big load. He suddenly fell over, holding his chest like he was in pain. Near the building located meters away from the tunnel, strange cloaked figures stood around watching.<br>"What the hell are you doing? Carry those rocks!" They shout. "If you slack off, we'll ask the boss to have your funeral!"  
>The elderly man scurries to his knees and bows to them. "Please forgive me!"<br>"I won't forgive them!" Naruto exclaims.  
>"Calm down, Naruto. We don't know anything about them." Neji huffs.<br>"That's right. We have to follow Neji's orders." Tenten says.  
>"But, if we don't do something, that old guy will die!" Naruto exclaims. I was about to stand up when Lee put his hand on my head, pushed me down as he stood up.<br>"Naruto-kun, please leave this to me!" He says. I was about to open my mouth to retort when he bolted off.  
>"Wait, Lee!" Tenten calls.<br>"Dammit! I was going to get them!" I complain, then jump off to follow him.  
>"Setsuki! Wait, dammit!" Tenten gushes. Out of the four cloaked figures standing around, Lee went after one on the right, so I went for one of the left. Lee runs up and sends a punch to his stomach, I couldn't lift my legs to kick, so I did the same. I was going to beat all of them! I turn around after this cloaked person fell, only see Lee had already pounded them to the ground. I blink and Lee grins, waving at the others.<br>"Are you alright old man?" Lee asks, offering a hand to the old guy. The others all jump down.  
>"What have you done?" The old man questions. Naruto pulls out a bottle of water and offers it to him.<br>"Here, have some water." Naruto says. The old guy whacks it out of his hand. "What are you doing?"  
>"Please! Just leave me here and go!" The old man cries. "Knock me out like you did to those guys!"<br>"What?" Naruto asks.  
>"I think he's lost it.." Tenten says.<br>"If you're not going to, then I'll do it myself!" The guy exclaims and begins punching himself.  
>"H-hey! Old man!" I say, grabbing his fists.<br>"Definitely lost it..." Tenten mutters.  
>"Please! Let me go!" The man pleads. I shake my head.<br>"You can't hurt yourself like this!" I say.  
>"It's terrifying! If they find out that I was the only one left unhurt, what will they do to me?" He questions. We hear a loud crash like a giant symbol being pounded, it made the man jump and cling to me as if he was clinging for dear life. I almost couldn't hold him up. I didn't know what to do so I just pet him on the head.<br>"What is that sound?" Naruto asks.  
>"Have they found us?" Tenten asks.<br>"No, that's the funeral bell." Neji says.  
>"Funeral?" Lee asks. The man climbs down and stares into the distance.<br>"The Kurosuke Family rules this town. Their boss, Raiga, has funerals for those who've betrayed them while they're still alive." He explains.  
>"Buried alive? How cruel!" Tenten gushes.<br>"Well, that's... during the funerals. Raiga cries bitterly and grieves openly." The old man says.  
>"I don't get him at all!" Naruto groans.<br>"But, that doesn't seem to be like the old man's funeral bell." Neji says.  
>"Yeah. I heard that Rokusuke was caught, so it's most likely-"<br>"What?" Naruto questions.  
>"Come on! We gotta go save him!" I exclaim, and begin taking off.<br>"Right behind you!" Lee shouts, and follows right behind.  
>"Wait up!" Tenten calls as the rest follow.<p>

We found the cemetery place where they buried a lot of people, broken crosses and posts stick out of the ground.  
>"Alright everyone, lets go save them, dattebayo!" Naruto says. "Neji I'm counting on you!"<br>"Alright." Neji responds. "Byakugan! … It's alright, he's still alive. If we can defeat the others, we can still save him in time."  
>"Alright, lets take them out!" Naruto says.<br>"Yes, lets go!" Lee says, about to stand up, but I put my hand on his head, push him down while I stand up. He fell to his butt and looks up at me with a frown.  
>"Yosh! We'll show 'em what it means to mess with us!" I announce and start to bolt off.<br>"Stop with the haste you two!" Neji sounds, however I kept running, they eventually follow.  
>Once we got close to them we throw smoke bombs at them.<br>"It's the enemy!" One of the cloaked people shouts. One starts running away. "Bastards!"  
>"Tenten, take care of the ninja on the right." Neji says.<br>"Okay!" Tenten replies, pulling out a three-section staff. She snaps it into place and starts pounding the guy with it. Neji starts attacking another two, Lee goes for a group of four, but I wasn't going to let him. I put my hands together.  
>"Water Style: Water Gun Jutsu!" I gush out a large ball of water from my mouth which knocked those four down before Lee could manage to get to them. Lee stops and blink, looks at me and raises an eyebrow. I get a smug expression and scoff.<br>Naruto took down three with his Uzumaki Barrage.  
>"Be careful." Neji says. "There are still three lef-"<br>"I am already on it!" Lee exclaims, rushing towards them. "Leaf Hurric-"  
>"Water Bullet Jutsu!" I manage to knock those two down as well. Lee lands on his feet and looks at me with a fist raised.<br>"Stop doing that!" He complains. "The Beautiful Green Beast, Rock Lee, is ready!" He turns to look for the last one, he was hiding behind a headstone, then began whimpering and backing away as Lee ran towards him. He backed into a tree, Lee was about to punch his face when he suddenly stops, his fist inches from the guy's face. The guy fell to his butt, and his hood fell off.  
>"What's with him?" Naruto asks.<br>"Well, this person is.. Karashi-san." Lee says. I run over.  
>"Then he's Sanshou-baasan's.. grandson?" I ask.<br>"This guy's Karashi?" Naruto inquires. The guy folds his arms and huffs.  
>"It isn't true that you joined the Kurosuke Family of your own will, like Sanshou-baasan said, is it?" Lee inquires.<br>"What's it to you?" Karashi says, closing his eyes.  
>"You!" Naruto growls, making Karashi flinch.<br>"You see, Raiga-sama is awesome!" Karashi exclaims, looking up at us. "He kicked the evil people out of Katabama Kinzan and set the village free.  
>"Listen you. Sanshou-baasan, everyday while making curry, was really worried about you!" Naruto says. Lee stands in front of Naruto with his arm raised.<br>"Naruto-kun, please leave this to me." Lee says. "Karashi-san, didn't you save my life with your Curry of Life? Why would you, who can make such a wonderful curry, join a family that takes people's lives? Why?"  
>"Hmph. No one praises you for making curry." Karashi grumbles. "Since I was born a man in this world, I must gain power and use it to control Heaven and Earth. It's better than working in a store that's falling apart and rarely has customers come by."<br>"What did you say? I can't hold back anymore!" Naruto shouts swinging his fist, but then suddenly Lee punches Karashi in the face.  
>"Lee..." Tenten mutters. I was confused.<br>Lee holds his fist up and clenches it tighter. "Karashi0san, it wasn't just my life that got saved by the curry that you and Sanshou-obaasan made. If you put your whole heart into it, and make a lot of curry, you can save lives. Even for a person like myself, if I put all of my heart into it, nothing is impossible. That's what you taught me. I see the you of back then as better and stronger as the you now."  
>Karashi seemed to bite his lower lip, he opened his mouth to say something when Lee cut him off.<br>"Please promise me! Promise that you will definitely leave the Kurosuke family."  
>Karashi got to his feet. "I understand." Karashi says. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"<br>"Well, that's good." Naruto says.  
>"Hey1 Please let me out of here! It's dark and it hurts!" We all look towards a coffin on the ground.<br>"Rokusuke-san?" I inquire, then I run over to it and attempt to pry the lid off, it was heavy. "Guys! Come help me!" I call. They all came rushing over and assisted with trying to pry the lid off. It finally did, and Rokusuke sat up right away and took a few deep breaths.  
>"You guys..." He mutters.<br>"We made you wait, didn't we? It's all right now." Naruto says.  
>"I'm sorry. I thought that I might still be able to save my friends that were here." Rokusuke says. "I couldn't just stand around anymore and.."<br>"Yeah, I understand." Naruto says.  
>"Neji, what's wrong?" Tenten asks, we all look at Neji who seemed to be looking up to the top of the mountain. He was solemn and like he was concentrating, then suddenly gasps.<br>"What is this?" He questions. "This sense of murderous intent?"  
>"Hey Neji-kun! What's going on!" I ask, nudging his shoulder repeatedly. He hits my hand away.<br>"Don't." He groans, frowning at me. He turns to the others. "We're being watched.. most likely, it's Raiga. On top of that mountain."  
>"Right! Let's go!" I say and begin marching.<br>"Hai!" Lee replies and follows.  
>"What is with those two recently?" Naruto inquires.<br>"I don't know. I don't really care." Neji replies, the rest all follow.  
>"Karashi-kun! Please take care of Rokusuke-san!" Lee calls back.<br>"Uh, okay?" Karashi replies.

We jump to the top of the mountain, only to realize there was no one there.  
>"There's no one here." Neji says.<br>"Where did he go?" Naruto asks. Suddenly mist began appearing at our feet, then shrouded around us completely until we couldn't see past our own hands.  
>"This mist.." Neji mutters. We heard a snigger not too far from us.<br>"Ninja Art: Hiding in the Mist Jutsu.." A voce spoke. Lee pulls his book out and flicks through a few pages.  
>"The Kirigakure ninja are especially talented with Mist Style Jutsu." Lee mentions.<br>"So what Gai-sensei was right?" Tenten asks.  
>"Damn! I can't see a thing!" Naruto complains.<br>"I know I know!" I exclaim. "Lee, team up with me and we'll perform a Leaf Hurricane together, that might blow the mist away!"  
>"Good idea Setsuki-san!" Lee replies. I start running forward when suddenly someone grabbed my shirt and pulled me back.<br>"Don't!" Neji hisses behind me. I blink.  
>"What?" I ask, looking over my shoulder at him. He tilts his head forward, I could see that his Byakugan was activated.<br>"He might be there.."  
>"Neji! Please try and locate the enemy with your Byakugan!" Lee says.<br>"What do you think I've been trying to do?" Neji hisses. "Tch... I can't see a thing!"  
>"That is impossible!" Lee exclaims. "I cannot believe Neji's 360 degree Byakugan cannot see through this."<br>"What does this mean?" Naruto asks.  
>"There isn't supposed to be any technique that can block Byakugan.." Neji says. We continue looking around.<br>"Well apparently there is now.." I say. Neji frowns at me. We then heard a growling in the distance, then two bolts of electricity burst up into the air, making us all jump.  
>"W-what is that?" I question, becoming scared. The black clouds above us become full of electricity.<br>"Ikazuchi, surge!"  
>Suddenly a giant bolt of lightning struck down, directly where we were standing. I was paralysed in fear, I didn't even notice the others had jumped away. I was trembling, recalling my previous battle with that Sound Ninja.<br>"Setsuki!" A voice snapped me out of my paralysis but it was too late by then, the lightning bolt was inches away.  
>"Lee d-" Tenten's familiar voice called, but was cut off.<br>A whimper escaped my lips when suddenly I felt a forceful impact to the side of my hip, it pushed me over off the side of the cliff. It made me cringe and the falling sensation was scaring me. That's when I saw the area I was standing had been completely destroyed by the lightning bolt. I look down to see Lee with his arms around me and his eyes shut tightly. I tried to speak his name but no words came out. I guess it was the shock. I felt the entire impact when we hit the side of another cliff as we tumbled down it, Lee never let go which surprised me. I could feel the sharp uneven rocks cutting me on our way down. But what scared me the most was that I couldn't see the bottom.  
>"S-Setsuki, hold on to me!" Lee abruptly calls out. I look down at him as he slowly removed an arm from my waist and held tighter with the other. I put my arms around his shoulders and I could feel his pulse beating just as fast as mine.<br>He reaches out and grabs a rock sticking out and grunts as he held up both our weights. I look up at his struggling face. I was so surprised.  
>"L-Lee.." I manage to spit out. He looks down at me, his clenched teeth slowly turned to a grin.<br>"A-Are you alright Setsuki-san?" He inquires. I could see his suit was torn in multiple places. He tries to pull us both up, but it didn't work. I guess all these weights really do have a disadvantage. Although his arm around my waist was still firm as ever, like he wasn't going to let go for anything. I had to help. I slowly lift an arm to grab onto the same rock, when I accidentally put my hand on his. My face burned up and his cheeks turn red. I quickly move my hand away and grab another part of the rock. I didn't feel like speaking now. Lee clears his throat and we both pull each other up properly. We both sat on the small ledge panting. I look up at the spot we were attacked, the smoke was beginning to thin out. I sigh of relief, and look at Lee staring into space while panting heavily. I couldn't hold myself back, I hug him tightly.  
>"Thank you Lee!" I cry. I felt him tense up.<br>"S-S-Setsuki-san..!" He stutters. He pats my back. "I.. You're welcome!" He says, clearing his throat, he raises a thumb at me. I blink. "I cannot let a comrade be hurt, my duty as Gai-sensei's student to protect my comrades! That would be conflicting with the power of youth otherwise!" He exclaims. I don't know why, but it sounded like he was hiding something, but I didn't pry.  
>"Thank you.." I sniffle, and let go.<br>"C-come on, lets go find the others." He says, standing up. I nod and stand up but then a tremendous pain struck my leg, I cry in pain and fall, only to be caught by Lee. I cringe then look up. "A-are you alright?"  
>"I-I don't.. know.." I reply looking down at my leg, noticing a lot of blood falling from my right leg. Lee also must have noticed because the next thing I knew, he swept me off my feet and was holding me in his hands. My eyes widen.<br>"I will carry you, maybe Tenten can help with that!" He says, then before I knew it, he was jumping around the cliff searching for the others.


	44. Chapter 44

Lee found the others in a bush on the cliff.  
>"Lee! Setsuki! Thank God you both are safe." Tenten says.<br>"Shh." Neji responds.  
>"What happened? You both look rugged." Tenten whispers. Lee knelt down and sits me down gently.<br>"We took a tumble but we're fine." I whisper, giving her a reassuring smile.  
>"Oh, well at least you're okay. You had us worried!" Tenten replies. Lee had been shaking his head since I started talking, and it captured my curiosity.<br>"Please do not lie, Setsuki-san." Lee says, staring into my eyes.  
>"W...what..?" I ask.<br>"You are hurt Setsuki-san. You are anything but fine!" Lee exclaims.  
>"Shh!" Neji hisses. Lee turns to Neji with a glare, pointing at him.<br>"Do not shush me! I am-"  
>"Shut up you idiot!" Neji hisses, glaring back at Lee. I hadn't noticed Tenten was already rolling up the leg of my sleeve and taking my leg weights off.<br>"It's okay Lee, it's fine, it's a small cut!" Tenten says, poking a small cut on my leg. I jump.  
>"Ow! Tenten!" I whine. Tenten frowns.<br>"I'm sure these leg weights wouldn't help, you need to take them off." She says.  
>"But Tenten-!"<br>"No! You're taking them off, right now!" Tenten argues, about to take the other one off. I put my hand out to stop her when suddenly Lee's head hit the ground near my foot. Neji was laying on top of him. Tenten and I stop fighting to stare at them.  
>"Stop fighting you two!" Naruto gushes. Neji rolls off Lee and sits up, wiping his mouth with a sickened expression and began coughing. Lee's eyes were just wide and he lay there frozen. Naruto folds his arms with a huff.<br>"Er.. Lee?" I inquire, waving my hand in front of his face which didn't seem to change expression.  
>"Ah just leave him." Tenten says. Neji growls quietly towards Naruto who ignored him. Tenten reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bandaid, though big enough to cover the cut near my ankle. I was surprise, how the hell could such a small cut cause to much pain? I wince when she applied the bandaid, then peer out through the bushes. Tenten puts a hand on my shoulder.<br>"Don't get excited, we can't go rushing out alright?" She says. I give her a blank expression. "..? You weren't thinking about rushing out?"  
>"No.." I lie.<br>"Good." Tenten huffs, crossing her arms.  
>"Shh.. the enemy was nearby.." Neji mentions. "There's still a chance that he is still there..." He activates his Byakugan again. "I can see it!" He exclaims. "23 degrees southwest, 12.3 degrees southeast, 8.1 degrees southeast, one 24.11 degrees northwest, and 14 degrees northeast."<br>"Should we go out and take them down?" Naruto asks. Neji gives a nod, and they all jump off, leaving me there. I fold my arms, how dare they. I carefully stand up, and after a minute, I heard shouting.  
>"Please help me!"<br>I gasp slightly. "Lee?!" I call, looking around. I saw the others head in one direction, so I was about to run out after them, but as soon as I put pressure on my leg, I cry out in pain because it was almost unbearable, and I fell over again. I've never felt so useless before. They must have heard me because before I knew it, Tenten and Neji were beside me within the blink of an eye.  
>"Setsuki you need to rest!" Tenten gushes.<br>"But.. but Lee-san called for help!" I whine.  
>"He's fine.. he got his foot stuck on a rope and isn't capable of freeing himself." Neji huffs, as if insulting his teammate.<br>"The enemy disappeared!" Lee called out. Neji began looking around carefully with his Byakugan.  
>"I swear the guys I was fighting just turned into boulders or something!" Tenten mentions. I sit up again.<br>"Maybe it was a transformation jutsu?" I suggest. Neji shakes his head.  
>"No.. they seem to be some sort of illusion.." He says. I heard a loud static noise, and when I turned my head I saw bolts of electricity coming straight for us. None of us could get away in time, so we got struck by it. The pain of this was unbearable, like thousands of sharp needles stabbing in and out really fast all over your body, your blood feels like it's acid and burning you from the inside. No one could control the cries that escaped their mouthes, especially me. Neji and Tenten fell over right when the electricity stopped. I was on the verge of being unconscious, my body was twitching all over the place as if electricity was conducting inside of me, and it still hurt.<br>I heard something hit the ground near my head, but I couldn't open my eyes. "Ah, warm corpses." I swear I heard someone speak, but I couldn't focus properly, I blacked out.

When I became conscious again, I could feel my body bobbing up and down, and multiple footsteps running.  
>"But are you sure he'll be alright in there?" Tenten's voice asks.<br>"We're going back for him, so of course he will be!" Naruto's loud voice answers. My hand twitches as I open my eyes slowly. The left side of my body felt like it was hanging over something, and my right arm was wrapped around something. When my vision became clear after a few seconds, all I could see was a rocky ground passing by very quickly.  
>"But was the chakra seal really necessary?" Lee's voice asks, and it was rather close to my ear. I lift my head and turn it to the right, coming inches away from Lee's. I blink, he was.. carrying me?<br>"I said it before, he may have more powers hidden within him. It's to make sure, just in case." Neji's voice answers.  
>"But still...! Setsuki-san! You're awake!" Lee says as soon as he looks at me. I still felt heavy and tired, so I just nod in response. "How are you feeling?"<br>"Uh.. I dunno.. okay, I suppose." I reply, looking ahead.  
>"Maybe we should have left Setsuki there to guard that kid!" Naruto mentions.<br>"Kid..?" I inquire. Neji stops running, and so everyone else does too to look at him.  
>"That is a good idea. Though I didn't expect it to come from you, Naruto." Neji says. Naruto growls under his breath. Neji looks at Lee. "Lee, take Setsuki back to that building to keep that kid secure. She wont be much help if we get into another fight down there."<br>"Hey! I am perfectly fine!" I exclaim, trying to get down, but Lee showed no intention of letting go of my legs, so I couldn't get down.  
>"No you are not!" Lee argues. I frown at Lee.<br>"Yes I am!" I exclaim.  
>"No! You are not!"<br>"Yes I-"  
>"No you are not!" Lee raises his voice.<br>"Lee knock it off-"  
>"You are not either!" Lee cuts Tenten off, facing her.<br>"What? Lee I'm perfectly fine!" Tenten says.  
>"Yes you are!" Lee says. "But you are not!" He looks at me.<br>"I am fine!" I exclaim. Lee took a deep breath.  
>"No! You are not fine Setsuki-san!"<br>"Yes I am!" I argue.  
>"Shut up!" Neji gushes.<br>"YOU'RE NOT FINE!" Lee and I both shout at Neji suddenly. An awkward silence was then created, Neji rubs his forehead.  
>"... So take Setsuki back, and meet us down the bottom." Neji finishes explaining. Lee suddenly stood up straight, as if saluting with no hands. I was close to losing balance until I plop my hands on both his shoulders and took a firm grip. I'm glad I did too, because I almost fell off when he started running back the opposite way.<br>"So.. Lee-san?"  
>"Yes, Setsuki-san?"<br>"Who is this 'kid' they keep talking about?" I ask.  
>"Oh, well that Raiga guy had a child strapped to his back in this bag, and the child has some sort of magical power that gives Raiga strength! We managed to separate them both, and we think Naruto-kun may have already defeated Raiga! But to be sure we are going to investigate! But we cannot allow the child to try and trick us!" Lee explains in one deep breath. "Naruto-kun put a chakra seal on the building to ensure the child does not escape, but now you are awake, perhaps you can keep an eye on him!"<br>"Ohhhhh.." I reply, only catching a bit of that. "Yosh! Then I will make sure the kid doesn't get up to any mischief!"  
>"That is indeed good news!" Lee says, stopping suddenly.<br>"..? What are we stopping for?" I inquire.  
>"Because the building is here." Lee says, turning to the left. There was a small shed-like building made from wooden planks. How did I not see that just now?<br>"Oh.. of course!" I giggle. Lee laughs and carries me to the door, and lowers me down so I was sitting on the ground, leaning against it.  
>"Setsuki-san."<br>"Yes?" I look up at Lee as he stands up straight. His eyes were fixed on mine.  
>"Please stay safe." He says. I give him a nod, and he starts running back after the others.<br>"Lee!" I call out. Lee stops and looks back.  
>"What is it Setsuki-san?"<br>"You be careful too, okay?" I call out. Lee formed a smile on his face, and he gave me two thumbs up before continuing to run down the slope.  
>"Who's there..?" I hear a petite voice. I look at the door.<br>"You must be that kid they're talking about!" I exclaim. "I'm Kuromizu Setsuki."  
>"... You're one of those Konoha ninjas... I want Raiga.." He spoke. I look up at the seal tag stuck to both doors. It was one of the simple chakra seals that can easily be broken. I carefully stand up, leaning on one foot, and do a hand sign.<br>"Release." I say, the tag burst into flames and burned to ashes within a few seconds. I open the door and hop inside, and saw a small kid tied to a pole with a tiny bit of rope. The boy looks up from the ground at me.  
>"What are you doing?" He asks. I hop over and sit on the ground beside the pole.<br>"I'm not gonna make you sit in here alone." I say, he seemed so innocent looking, how could this boy be 'bad'? His red eyes stare into mine with surprise.  
>"But you.. you're with them.. the other guys that killed Raiga.." He says. "Why are you concerning over me..?"<br>"Uh, well I was told to come keep an eye on ya. So, here I am." I explain. The boy moved his head slightly so he could see out of the slightly open door. "What's up?"  
>"Raiga..."<br>"Don't worry kid. You're better off in our hands." I say.  
>"My name is Ranmaru.."<br>"Ranmaru? Hey, listen, instead of worrying about that Raiga, tell me about yourself!"  
>Ranmaru's eyes became distant, he reluctantly started talking. He told me everything about him, how he was an orphan who was found by Raiga and that they've been together since. It was kind of touching really. I then heard the door slowly creak open. I instantly tense up and take hold of a kunai in my pouch.<br>I look over my shoulder and blink. It was the guys. I smile at them.  
>"Setsuki? Why are you inside the building?" Neji asks.<br>"I was talking to Ranmaru!" I exclaim. "What about Raiga?"  
>"He's gone." Neji states.<p>

They all gathered around Ranmaru as he retold his past to them, making everyone realize he's not a bad person.  
>There was a short silence after the story, the second time hearing it had me in tears. "It's so sad!" I sniffle.<br>"Calm down Setsuki!" Tenten groans.  
>"Hmm.. I know! First lets eat some curry of life and get better!" Naruto suggests.<br>"That's right! You will get some nutrition!" Lee exclaims.  
>"Don't you think that will make his health worse?" Tenten argues.<br>"You're not really going to eat it are you Naruto?" Neji grumbles.  
>"Well, you see? After eating it several times, I feel like I've been getting stronger!" Naruto exclaims.<br>Naruto unties Ranmaru and carries him on his back. "Until you can walk on your own, I'll be your body! Okay?" Naruto says. Ranmaru nods.  
>Suddenly I felt my own body being lifted off the ground. Lee was holding me in his arms.<br>"Setsuki-san! Until you can walk on your own, I will be your body! Okay?" He says.  
>"Lee you just stole Naruto-kun's wor-"<br>"Lee what are you up to?" Tenten asks with a suspicious expression.  
>"I am helping Setsuki-san! What does it look like!"<br>I couldn't help but laugh. "Thank you Lee."  
>He shines a bright smile and I could imagine the thumb pointing up.<br>"I.. have one request." Ranmaru says. "Please.. take me to Raiga's body."  
>We all look at each other then they decided to do so.<p>

They took us back out on the mountains to where I saw Raiga's body buried beneath a large pile of rubble. Both his hands were poking out, holding the swords to the air.  
>"Byakugan... Just as I thought, I can't find his life signs." Neji says.<br>"Can you see it, Ranmaru?" Naruto asks.  
>I felt slightly scared, after my encounter with Raiga and his attack. I didn't even notice myself gripping onto his shirt.<br>"Is it alright now?" Naruto asks Ranmaru.  
>"Yeah."<br>"Let's go. Our mission is complete." Neji says, then everyone starts running back to Sanshou-san's curry shop.  
>We met up with Karashi along the way.<p>

"Sanshou-baachan! We're back!" Naruto exclaims.  
>"Karashi-kun's here too!" Lee says, kicking the guy in the back, forcing him to move towards her. Karashi drops to his knees and wails.<br>"M-Mum! I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"  
>"Please forgive him! From now on, he will become good again and will work to help this Curry of Life shop!" Lee exclaims.<br>"Lee if you keep moving around you're gonna drop me-"  
>Sure enough, Lee stepped backwards too fast and I slipped out of his hands, landing straight on my butt.<br>"Ow! Lee!" I growl.  
>"Baka!" Tenten smacks Lee one over the head. Lee was on the ground and took my hand, looking up with tears running down his face and a nice bruise on his forehead.<br>"P-Please forgive me Setsuki-san!" He whines.  
>Sanshou-san turns around and slams a plate of the black oozing curry on the counter.<br>"I will only forgive you... after you eat, right?" She says, staring Karashi straight in the eye. Lee stands up and brushes himself off then offers a hand to me, but I shake my head, afraid he'll drop me again.  
>"Wow it looks good! If he isn't gonna eat it I will!" Naruto exclaims.<br>"I have some ready for everyone else, too!" Sanshou-san says.  
>Lee suddenly burst up in the air with a cheer. I facepalm – he would've dropped me just now.<br>"Oh my. What a sickly-looking child, huh?" Sanshou says, taking notice of Ranmaru.  
>"Yeah. Can you prepare some for him, too?" Naruto asks.<br>Karashi finally gets up and takes a bite of the curry, his eyes watered majorly.  
>"300 Spice Punishment Curry, isn't it?" Sanshou-san says. Karashi continues to eat it anyway.<br>"Spicy! It's spicy. But it's good. It's good, Mum!" Karashi mutters with his mouthful.  
>"Everyone's curry is ready!" Sanshou-san says.<p>

I was so full my stomach couldn't possibly fit anymore in it if I tried. Groaning and moaning laying on the floor holding my stomach, it irritated both Neji and Tenten, because Lee was exactly the same as me.  
>"I told you two not to eat so much!" Tenten gushes.<br>"I w-won though!" I say. Which I did. I actually won our eating competition. By half a plate! I was regretting it though.  
>Naruto and Ranmaru started discussing things about the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, but I wasn't listening.<br>"It's getting pretty late outside.. how about we all go to be-" Tenten was cut off by the snoring coming from both Lee and I. She sighs and shakes her head with a grumble.


	45. Chapter 45

I woke up the next morning, tucked in comfortably on a futon. It was warm, but it was also time to get up. I sat up and looked around. "Someone must've mov- WAAAH!" I practically shriek as I felt something grab my thigh. Tightly.  
>I scrutinise with wide eyes at my thigh, to see a bandaged hand grabbing onto it, I followed the arm and it lead under the blanket. I narrow my eyes as I lift the blanket up. Lee. He was curled up except his extended arm, his head resting right beside my foot. I narrow my eyes even more as I slowly slide out of the bedding and of course, release Lee's grip.<br>I began to hear shuffling in this room, that was too dark to see anything.  
>"I heard screaming. Was there screaming? Is everyone alr- gah!"<br>"Oww!"  
>I felt someone walk into me, pushing me over from my sitting position, and them tumbling on top of me. With the sound of the thud there was more shuffling in the room.<br>"Get. Off.." I whisper, trying to use all my strength in my arms to push him off.  
>"Ga-ow ow! Stop pushing already dattebayo!" Came Naruto's hushed voice. He rolled off and sat up, I did too. "I can't see anything, you were in the way."<br>"I wasn't!" I exclaim.  
>"What was all the screaming about anyway?"<br>"Well.." The rest of my sentence was a grumble "Why is Lee in my bed? Or..." My eye twitched "Why was I in Lee's bed?"  
>"Don't blame me! It was all Tenten! We tried to wake you both up." Naruto's voice turned to a grouse "But neither of you did, so she just threw you both in the same bed.." He grew a smirk "You both cuddled straight away we couldn't even pry you apart dattebayo!"<br>I felt my cheeks burning up again. I remained silent.  
>"So we just left you there, and- wait where is Bushy Brows?"<br>"Under the blanket.." I modestly reply. Naruto made a quiet snicker which made my cheeks feel hotter. "What?"  
>Naruto's snicker turned to a rather.. content grin. I repeated my last word.<br>Naruto began mumbling something, but I didn't hear him. "If her and Bushy Brows get together, that means I don't have to fight over Sakura-chan with him..!"  
>There was a silence echoing through the silent room, right until I saw the first tiny little ray of sunlight rise over the distant mountain, lighting the room the slightest little bit.<br>Suddenly there was a quick rustle and an obnoxious loud voice bursting to life "I WILL NOT BE LATE TODAY GAI-SENSEI!"  
><em>Everyone<em> (except me) began cussing loudly amongst their grousing. I stared at Lee standing there with his arm in the air, as if saluting somebody.  
>Lee looked around with curiosity until he spotted me. "Setsuki-san! Are you awake?"<br>"Yes.."  
>"Good! Then we must start Gai-sensei's early morning warmup training!"<br>"Yeah! Well I mean, I would, but I'm still injured."  
>Lee's shoulders slumped, as if disappointed. "Right.. I did not forget about that! I was.. t-testing you! Yes! I was testing you!"<br>"Testing me on what?"  
>"... If I cannot do 1,000 sit ups- I will do 2,000 push ups!" Suddenly he was on the ground and away with his routine.<br>"Where do you get all your energy dattebayoooo.." Naruto groaned as is moaning like a small child. Lee shot a large grin at Naruto, I swear they sparkled.

After breakfast our plan was to head home. However there were suspicious dark grey clouds lingering, which seemed to get on everyone's nerves. Including mine.  
>"Hey, where's Rokusuke-san?" Naruto inquired, which caused everyone to look around the room curiously.<br>"Perhaps it has something to do with those clouds." Neji commented, he activated his Byakugan and searched around.  
>"Any luck?" Tenten asked. Neji's attention was turned to the mountains.<br>"Maybe.. he went back to find his friend?" Karashi mentioned, which made everyone gasp.  
>"We gotta go get him, dattebayo!" But before anyone could even respond, Naruto was out the door.<br>"Wait up Naruto-kun!" Lee called as he took pursuit instantly. Neji gave them both a taunting look before following. Tenten groaned and faced me.  
>"Can you walk on your own?"<br>I stood up and attempted to put pressure on my leg, it hurt, but I showed no signs of it. "I can stand!" I exclaim.  
>"Yes, that's nice, but I was asking if you cou-"<br>"NOPE!" I reply as I tumbled to the ground after attempting to walk.  
>"Can you walk on your hands?"<br>My expression gleamed with delight! How had I not thought of that myself? I attempt a handstand, with success.  
>"Good.. I think you should start heading back to the village and get some backup just in case.."<br>"No Tenten! We don't need help! We are strong enough as it is!" I raise my fist upwards to show determination "We are Gai-sensei's s- aah!" I fell over.  
>Tenten grimaced at me and stood by the door.<br>"Uh- we can take care of her until you guys come back!" Karashi exclaimed.  
>"Nope!" I retort, standing back on my hands, headed towards the door. "I am going! My teammates <em>need<em> me!"  
>"Wait.." Came Ranmaru's feeble voice. I turn my head back, to see him actually standing. "Can you.. take me with you?"<br>"No way!" Tenten slammed the door shut, right in my face. "You _both_ are staying put! So be it I'll even stay here to make sure of it!"  
>I don't like Tenten when she's angry.. kind of reminds me of Ino.. just slightly.. I lower myself onto my backside and sit there with a pout – the entire time.<p>

It wasn't long before the door swung open, catching us all off guard, making me scream in fright. Rokusuke stood there panting, sweat dripping from his forehead.  
>"Rokusuke! You've returned!" Sanshou's voice called.<br>"No time no time! Raiga isn't dead! He's got your friends beaten!"  
>We all gasp. "Is Lee alright!?" I question.<br>"N-no. None of them are! They got blown back by a powerful blast from Raiga! He thinks you guys kidnapped Ranmaru!"  
>We turn to Ranmaru who had the slightest hint of satisfaction about him, but still looked worried.<br>There was clanging in the kitchen, Sanshou had a giant pot which she placed over the stove. "Karashi! Get your butt in here and help your mother out!"  
>"U-uh, yes mum!" Karashi ran to the kitchen. "Exactly what are you..?"<br>"We must make them the Curry of Life! It saved your young friend once before, it will do it again!"  
>"Of course!" Karashi began grabbing ingredients and throwing them in the pot.<br>"Hurry hurry! No time to waste!"  
>"Yes mother! I'm going as fast as I can!"<br>I face Tenten with an eager expression, but she narrowed her eyes and shook her head.  
>"Whyyy!?"<br>"Because you can't do anything! You can't walk so what _can_ you do?"  
>"I can-... I can.. um.."<br>"Exact-"  
>"I can help search!"<br>Tenten frowned.

Next thing I know I'm roped to a column inside the house. It's something I could easily get out of though, but I wasn't game to while Tenten was still here. Tenten carried Ranmaru on her back, and Karashi carried the giant pot of curry on his back, and they were off. Sanshou sat down on a stood beside me and stared at me, making me feel uneasy.  
>"My young friend, it seems they left you behind. Do they not require your help?"<br>"Yes! They _need_ my help!"  
>"Then why are you here? You should be helping!" Sanshou cut the ropes Tenten had tied me with. "Even if you can't walk, there's gotta be another way you can travel!"<br>"I will slide my way down there like a snake if I have to- wait! A _snake_!" I had just gotten a big idea.  
>"Snake?"<br>"Yeah!" I summon Keahebi, who didn't seem happy to see me.  
>"What iss it?"<br>"Kea- wow.. you've gotten heaps big!" I remark, admiring his huge size.  
>"If I'm going to hear that every time you summon me.."<br>"Uh- no no I promise I won't say it anymore!" I stare into his grey eyes eagerly. "I need your help." Keahebi returned the stare.

I rode Keahebi all the way up the mountain, and eventually caught up with Tenten. She had stopped.  
>"Tenten!"<br>She was focusing on something up on a high rock. I looked too, and I saw Lee, with grey smoke coming off his body. I blink as he began falling oddly down the rocks, and until he hit the ground. Tenten put Ranmaru down. "Lee what the hell're you doing now?!" Tenten gushes.  
>"Don't be so harsh Te-"<br>"Sanshou! Bring the curry over here!"  
>I blink. "Sanshou..?" I turn my head and see Sanshou walking over with another large pot of curry. "H-how did you..?!"<br>"I hitched a ride on your snake, missy." Sanshou said. Keahebi gave a slight nod when I looked at him. Tenten grabbed the bottom of Lee's jaw and began stuffing spoon-fulls of curry into his mouth.  
>Lee suddenly came to life, and pretty much dived into the pot. Sanshou stared in awe as Lee consumed the entire thing.<br>"Deeeeeelicious!" Lee exclaimed, his cheeks bright pink and his balance uneven.  
>"Lee! What happened?" I ask.<br>"Nyuhh?" Lee stared at me for a minute, then lowered his gaze at Keahebi. "What're youuuuu loooking- hic at?!" He narrows his eyes.  
>"What the hell?! Lee! Stop acting drunk!" Tenten growls.<br>"Me? Druuuunk? Ohhh~" Lee fell over, as if he'd just fainted. Tenten clenched a fist.  
>"Stop fooling around!" She swung a punch at Lee, but his body moved very swiftly and he stood upright.<br>"Nooope! I tricked- hic youuuu!" Lee stated, feeling quite proud of himself. Tenten's eye twitched.

We all rode Keahebi further into the mountain, dragging Lee behind with a rope tied to his ankle. We eventually came across Neji and Karashi.  
>"Look he needs more curry Karashi!" Sanshou exclaimed, grabbing a spoon-full of curry from his pot. Karashi waved his arms around all panicked.<br>"No! Don't! It'll only make him worse!"  
>"I'll have it then!" I cheer gleefully. I did. I ate the rest of it. It was very very spicy.. felt like my tongue was on fire.. but it was still <em>great<em>!

We continued to ride until we found a bunch of Naruto's clones getting picked off one by one by Raiga's lightning.  
>"Great.." Tenten grumbles as Naruto collapses again, causing all his clones to disappear.<br>Lee began singing contently to himself, his words were incoherent however.  
>"Let me go to Raiga.. I can stop him." Ranmaru said. We faced him with curiosity, then the area became misty, so thick that I couldn't see my hand if I held it out. Ranmaru's red eyes glowed somewhat, and he headed directly towards Raiga.<br>"Raiga!"  
>"Ranmaru!" Raiga's tone calmed and softened.<br>"It's okay Raiga. I checked all the other guys.. they're all dead."  
>"What? Keh, so they ought to be. Are you okay Ranmaru? They didn't hurt you did they? I was so worried."<br>"No Raiga. See, I'm without harm."  
>"Thank goodness.. Come, why is this mist so thick Ranmaru?"<br>"It's alright Raiga. I am your eyes remember? Don't you trust me?"  
>"Oh! Oh! Of course I trust you Ranmaru! Now that I know you're unharmed, I might even give those fools a funeral!"<br>Without Raiga actually taking notice, the mist was clearing, and we could see them, Raiga had Ranmaru on his shoulders and headed towards the edge of a cliff. Naruto sat up with a growl.  
>"Dammit.. dammit! Ranmaru!" He cried out. Raiga stopped walking just as he got to the very edge.<br>"Ranmaru? You.. you were leading me off a cliff! What's wrong with you Ranmaru!?" Raiga's astounded voice echoed through the mountains. We all sensed trouble.  
>Suddenly Keahebi tensed. "What's wrong Kea?!"<br>"I mussst leave.. I am being called.."  
>"Called? By who-"<br>Keahebi disappeared in a puff of smoke, causing us to fall to the ground, we all grunt but Lee only giggled.  
>"Ranmaru! Don't risk your life! We can beat him!" Naruto called out again.<br>Ranmaru's voice came echoing back, over Raiga's insane noises. "Thank you friends.. for allowing me to make more bonds..."  
>"Ranmaru.. Ranmaru.. do you like them more than me?!" Raiga bellowed.<br>"No.. of course not Raiga."  
>But it was too late, Naruto had gone, gone to fight him. A lightning bolt came straight for us, with Ranmaru's cries of "Raiga don't!" echoing behind it. We all moved to avoid it, but it was too late. It caused an explosion which threw us off into different directions.<br>I tumbled a few feet, and when I looked up I saw Lee and Raiga standing face to face. Lee in a somewhat dizzy stance, swaying really heavily.  
>My mouth hung open as I watched, Raiga throwing multiple lighting bolts, and Lee effortlessly dodging each one with such a slender and flexible body. I'll admit it was impressive.<br>"Haa~" Lee fell over, unconscious. Raiga seemed to have a somewhat relieved face after that.  
>"Little twerp! I mustn't give him a funeral!" Raiga approached Lee, pointing one of his swords at Lee.<br>I tense and try to get up, but I wasn't fast enough... Lee was, however. He rolled to the side as Raiga attempted to stab him. And again.. and again.. each time got faster and faster until Lee clasped Raiga's sword in his hands and stood up grinning. "Haaaaa~" His voice got very high pitched. "You ffeeeellll for et~" Lee spun around quickly, kicking Raiga in the face, sending him flying over the edge of the mountain. I notice Ranmaru break from Raiga's back, and went flying as well.  
>"Lee! What did you do!?" I call out. But he ignored me as he stood there as if spacing.<br>"Ranmaru!" Naruto's voice called. I saw many of his clones make a chain, which managed to reach Ranmaru, and catch him in time, but Raiga fell to his death.

After all the drama, we were back at Sanshou-san's curry shop, Ranmaru was being taught how to make curry, and decided he wanted to stay there.  
>So the rest of us were headed home, and of course, I had to be carried by Lee, because he considered it training. But I think he just made that part up.<p>

"That was definitely a tough mission!" Lee said to me.  
>"Yeah-"<br>"But! We overcame it, because.. WE ARE GAI-SENSEI'S TOP STUDENTS! AND WE MUST WORK HARDER!"  
>I had to cover my ears. "Yes. We are.. indeed."<br>"Lee, you are wrong." Neji huffed as he walked beside us.  
>"No Neji! <em>You <em>are wrong!"  
>"We all know I'm the strongest of our team."<br>"Guys.. don't start this again.." Tenten grumbled.  
>"NOPE!" Lee shouted, as if he didn't want to acknowledge what Neji had said. Neji gave off a smug expression that went unnoticed.<p>

Once we got home, Lee forgot about taking me to get my leg looked at after we reported to Tsunade, and went straight to Gai-sensei's apartment. It was there that I found a big surprise..


	46. Chapter 46

Even Lee's jaw dropped in surprise.  
>"G-Gai-sensei!?"<br>The noble monster stood before us, his hair pulled back, floral-print budgie smugglers on, and nothing else, his apartment heavily decorated with paper chains, streamers, lanterns and balloons.  
>"Why hello students!" Gai chuckled placing his hands on his hips. I never would have imagined that he was hiding such a heavily toned body underneath that suit.<br>"Gai-sensei.." Lee's small quiet and confused voice mumbled.  
>"What's going on!?" I question staring at how massive his biceps are, just to see if they were real or not.<br>"Ahah! Well you see, Konoha's international swimming competition is starting soon! I am practicing!" Gai explains. We both blink.  
>"Interna-"<br>"REALLY!?" Lee burst up excitedly, dropping me.  
>"YES!"<br>"GAI-SENSEI! THAT IS REMARKABLE NEWS! JUST WHAT WE NEED!"  
>"THAT'S RIGHT! Only.." Gai's voice trailed off as he scratched his chin miserably.<br>"What is it, Gai-sensei?" Lee questioned.  
>"It's not until next year..." Both Lee and I sweat dropped. "BUT! Tell me, how did your mission go?!"<br>"Oh! We did it Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaimed. "There were so many bad guys! And we saved this kid! And and.. oh and Setsuki-san broke her leg."  
>"You don't have to say that so bluntly!" I complain.<br>"WHAT!" Gai-sensei's attention turned to me. "How did that-"  
>"Gai-sensei! I am not finished!" Lee shouts. Gai-sensei blinks and lets his student finish. "... I am hungry!"<br>"Haha! Well then we must eat! But first.." Gai-sensei leaned down to my height on the floor, right in my face, until our noses touch. "You must tell me why you broke your leg!"  
>"It wasn't my fault! I fell off the cliff.. thing.."<br>"WHY!?"  
>"BECAUSE- I DON'T KNOW!"<br>"YOUR UNCLE CAME LOOKING FOR YOU EARLIER!"  
>"WHAT FOR!?"<br>"Something.. about... I don't remember! But he was looking for you!"  
>"Oh.. okay-"<br>Lee shot his arm in the air and announced "I SHALL HELP YOU SETSUKI-SAN!"  
>"ADDABOY LEE! YOU'RE CERTAINLY SHAPING UP TO BE A RELIABLE MAN! LEE!"<br>"THANK YOU GAI-SENSEI!"  
>"What about me?!"<br>"YOU ARE GROWING INTO A FINE WOMAN SETSUKI-SAN! …." We faced Lee with blank expressions. "Uh... I-I mean.."  
>Gai-sensei started laughing. "The lotus is blooming~"<br>"Lotus?"  
>"Blooming?"<br>"That's something you both will understand when you're older!"  
>"I see Gai-sensei!" Lee chimed.<br>"Right! To my house!" I exclaim.  
>"Yes! Setsuki-san!" Lee swept me off my feet and out the door.<p>

"Just open the door." I say.  
>Lee shook his head defiantly. "No Setsuki-san! It is polite to knock!"<br>"But how are you supposed to knock when you're holding me!?"  
>"I will think of something!"<br>".. Just put me down."  
>"No way! Setsuki-san!" Flames erupted within his eyes. "Holding you like this counts as muscular training! If I put you down then I will fail!"<br>"... You made that up!"  
>"No! Setsuki-san! I implore you, I did not!"<br>My eyes narrow the slightest bit, then Lee turned around and begun walking. "Where're you going!?"  
>"Hush! I know exactly how to solve this problem! A perfect dynamic entry!"<br>"LEE! NO! YOU CAN'T-"  
>"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"<p>

With a loud crash and tumble, we were inside.. and so was the door. "What did I tell you! It worked!"  
>"Yes.. but now I'm gonna be in trouble." I grumble.<br>"What's all that racket!?" Takashi came shrieking into the hall. Upon one look he seemed to understand everything, he placed his hands on his hips. I've seen that look before, and it ain't good..  
>"Oh! Takashi-danna!"<br>"Danna?" I look at Lee with a weird expression. Lee stood up and of course, flung me over his shoulder like some sort of dead prey.  
>"Was it really necessary to break the door..?" Takashi spoke, biting his tongue.<br>"Yes!"  
>Takashi grimaced.<p>

After fixing the door with a huge lump on his head, Lee finally sat with us in the living room. Turns out someone had broken into my room while I was away, the window was smashed but he couldn't tell if anything was missing – the room was usually a mess, but I have a fair idea where everything is. I got concerned, thinking of who would do it, and why.  
>Then he questioned why I was limping so I explained everything about the mission, Lee kept making up things during my story telling too – Like how Neji shaved his head, Tenten got eaten by a giant snake, and Naruto drunk expired milk and had to poop the entire time, but there were no toilets.<br>Takashi had me lay across the couch, and because Lee didn't move, I had to rest my head on his lap, and boy was he tense.. but why? He avoided eye contact and started sweating.  
>Takashi rolled up my leg on my pants and examined around my ankle with his cruel cold hands. I winced a couple of times, and he finally got the squeak of pain he was waiting for. I felt embarrassed after it, so I cleared my throat.<br>"Seems you just sprained it. Nothing feels broken, and there's a gash here.. I'll stitch it up, you just need to stay off it for a while."  
>"Very well!" Lee exclaims. "I will be Setsuki-san's boat! I will ship her across the sea! To whatever destination she needs to go!"<br>"... What are you implying boy?"  
>"I.. I will be Setsuki-san's walking stick!"<br>"You mean, assistant?" Takashi says.  
>"I was trying to be creative! Gai-sensei says it's good to be creative!" Lee stuck his bottom lip out towards Takashi as if he was destroying a dream.<br>"Okay okay! But no, lad. Setsuki needs to rest. She can't be moving about so frequently." Takashi explains.  
>Lee was silent for a moment, his expression showed contemplation of an argument. "BUT! What if Setsuki-san needs to go to the shops!?"<br>"She wont need to."  
>"What if Setsuki-san needs to go swimming in the pond?!"<br>"She wont need to."  
>"What if Setsuki-san needs to go to the bathroom?!"<br>"She won- no! That is not your job! Don't even think about it lad."  
>"What if S-"<br>"Enough!" Takashi had that look, if anyone said anything he'd get violent. It was scary enough to silence Lee. For now at least.

Takashi tended to my ankle and lead me to my room, the place was messy as ever, the window was still shattered and broken, but the broken glass had been swept up into the bin.  
>"I will get cold at night." I complain.<br>"I put more blankets on your bed. We don't have the money to fix it."  
>"Yes we do! I just went on a mission! We can use the money to fix it!" I imply.<br>He proceeded to ask how much money I had made, and I showed him but apparently it wasn't enough.  
>"How come we're so low on money?" I ask.<br>"Because it's one of the things those thieves stole."  
>"I thought you said they only invaded my room? I don't have money in here."<br>"They came back more than once Setsuki."  
>Lee's ear perked and he appeared beside us. "Then this calls for an investigation! Do not worry, detective Lee is on the case!" Lee had dressed himself like a detective, brown coat, deestalker hat, and even a fake bushy moustache attached to his face. He held a magnifying glass in his hand and examined the wall.<br>"Where did you get that..?" Takashi asked.  
>"Get what?"<br>"That.. costume..?"  
>"Oh.. I don't really remember." Lee replies. Takashi learned it was better not to ask these things. "Reoccurring.. then I must stay here and be Setsuki-san's bodyguard!"<br>Takashi leaned down to my ear. "Would you get rid of your friend please?"  
>I blink. "Lee-san."<br>"Yes, Setsuki-san?!"  
>"It's great that you're volunteering to be a body guard and all.. but I'm strong enough to care for myself!"<br>"You are not!"  
>"Yes I am.. but SAKURA-CHAN ISN'T!"<br>Lee gasps very loudly and dramatically. "SAKURA-CHAN!? IS SHE IN TROUBLE?! DO NOT WORRY SAKURA-CHAN! I AM COMING!" Then he disappeared. Takashi sighed relieved behind me, and I had an urge to chase after Lee, but Takashi wasn't going to let me out of my room for a while.


	47. Chapter 47

Days passed, very slowly. I had spend them in my room, since Takashi didn't let me move around. Lee often came to visit, and he had nailed a few wooden planks to my window to temporarily fix it.. but it blocked most of the sunlight, and most importantly, my view.

Winter was also at our doorstep. Days were getting colder and colder, and skies were often filled with dark grey clouds day and night. It wasn't much fun.  
>My ankle was better though, I could stand and do almost everything again. Takashi told me that water can heal most of my wounds, like burns, cuts and gashes, but not quite broken bones or fatal injuries. It was some sort of gift I was born with. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that I can also stay underwater a lot longer than anyone I know..<p>

Anyway, daybreak was here, and of course I was up again. I woke to a nasty surprise of wooden splinters all over my bed.  
>"Ouch ouch!" They kept stabbing me, wherever I moved, something would stab me. I jumped out of bed and glared, until I saw the window.. the wood planks were broken, splinters and chunks of wood everywhere. Someone had broken in, again.<p>

I run to the kitchen, and in a rather loud voice, explain the situation to Takashi who was sipping away at his coffee, looking miserable. We'd been on a shortage of funds due to my being unable to do missions, however Lee did everything he could to help out, offering us all of his mission money, but Takashi refused and told Lee to spend the money on things he wanted... so he bought more leg weights..  
>With a deep sigh, Takashi responded. "I know Setsuki.. I know.. the small amount of money Lady Tsunade offered us is gone. We wont be fixing your window any time soon either.."<br>"But Uncle! I-I 'm sure we can report this to Tsunade again! She could give us more money to replace-"  
>"No! Setsuki, we cannot keep badgering Lady Tsunade for money."<br>"But why?"  
>"It's just impolite." He paused with another deep sigh, and silence filled the room as he took a long sip of his coffee. "... We'll manage."<br>"U-uncle, I'm better now! I... I'll go get a mission, I'll get us some money!"  
>"... Come here.." I approached him. "You wont be going anywhere like this." He began pulling out splinters. I flinched and whined at each one until they were gone.<p>

I ate, dressed myself, and left Takashi to find Tsunade. However she wasn't in her office. Shizune told me that Tsunade was on pursuit of some guy she owed money too, and that she wouldn't be back till the evening. Shizune also said that she couldn't give me any missions without the Hokage's permission.

So I left the building, expecting to run into someone. But I didn't. It was odd, I couldn't hear Naruto-kun shouting, or Lee bouncing around, or even Gai-sensei pursuing Kakashi-sensei halfway around the village.

I felt bored. Usually someone perks up at the sight of me... in fact, the main blondie to do that would be Daisuke-kun.. I haven't seen him or my squad for ages.  
>It was that moment when I passed a dark alley I'd never seen before, then I realized I'd wondered to a part of the village I've never been before. I stop and scratch my head momentarily, then I heard voices down that dark alley. My curiosity got the best of me, so I followed the voices down the alley, I couldn't see much, but it seemed to go on for a while. Then I saw a small building at the end. Two fire torches lit up the entrance on both sides of two wooden doors of bad condition. They looked like they would fall off any second. Suddenly the voices stopped muttering, it was quiet. The flickering of the fire stole the silence.<br>"H-hello?" I approach the two wooden steps, walk up and tap my knuckle on the door lightly. The door fell off the hinges, crashing on the inside. The sound made me jump.  
>"Hey! Get out of here!" A mean voice called.<br>"I-I'm sorry! Let me fix this for you!" I quickly rush in, pick the door up and hold it against the frame. "Do you have a hammer I could-" I was cut off by a hand slapping across my mouth. A voice whispered threatening messages into my ear.  
>"If you don't leave.. then I will kill you."<br>I had to do something. I wasn't going to take this! No! I am Setsuki! Konohagakure's Blue... Freak! Yes! That is me! Ame-chan refuses to take this kind of threat!  
>I swing my leg back, knocking the person over, or rather, people. Two small bodies fell to the ground with a small 'Aaaah!' and a thud. I saw a light switch, flicked it. The two people, or rather, children looked up at me with fear in their eyes.<br>"Y... you're just kids?"  
>"D-don't hurt us lady.." The small girl pleaded. The boy, who looked rather similar to her, stood up in front of her protectively, and was shaking in fear.<br>"Don't t-touch my sister!"  
>As I took a closer look, they had little Inuzuka clan marks on their cheeks. I rolled my eyes. "Great, more Inuzukas" I narrow my eyes irritated. I heard a loud bark from outside. Suddenly something hit me from behind, pinning me face down on the ground. I landed with an 'ommmph' and a small white dog stood tall and proud on my back.<br>"Haha, good job Akamaru!" An annoying Inuzuka voice chimed. "Hey," he stopped to sniff. "I know that scent.. Setsuki? What're you doing here?" Kiba practically growled as he said my name.  
>I didn't really have a reason. "Get Akamaru off me!"<br>"Grr, Akamaru, come here, sit." Akamaru obeyed his master. I sat up and frowned at Kiba. "You wont want to have hurt these kids."  
>"Hurt them? Do you know them?" I ask, the kids ran to Kiba's side, hiding behind him.<br>"... Yeah, these guys were orphans. I found em on the street, they ran away from Iruka-sensei's care, they don't like the guy. So I brought them here, where they have shelter."  
>"... Why not take them to your house?"<br>"Mum scares the crap out of em... and me.." He shivered just thinking about her.  
>"But this place.. it's falling apart. What if it caves in one day when they're in here?"<br>"Yeah.. well.. I ain't got no where else for 'em to stay.."  
>"They could stay with me!" I exclaim. Kiba cocked his eyebrow at me.<p>

I took the twins back to my place, but upon the sight they froze.  
>"U-uh.. we can't stay here!" The boy said, he grabbed his sister's hand they ran off.<br>"H-hey! Wait!" I leap, and land in front of them. They fell to the ground in fright. "Why not?"  
>"... My brother and I... we-"<br>"No Marei! You can't tell her!"  
>"But.. nii-chan..."<br>"Tell me what?" I gave them a shifty expression.  
>"Nothing! We didn't steal money from that house!" The boy blurted as he got up to run, I grab his arm.<br>"Stole money?! So _you're_ the little thief..."  
>The boy whimpered.<p>

The twins, Takashi and I all sat in the living room together.  
>"And that is why it is wrong to take things from others." Takashi finished off this big lecture.<br>The twins dropped to their hands and knees on the floor. "We're sorry! We really are! We had no idea it was wrong.."  
>"K-Kiba-kun told us if we can take care of ourselves.. we might have a better future.."<br>"Yeah! Kiba said if we want something we gotta get it ourselves!"  
>They continued saying how Kiba told them this and that.<br>"Well children, it seems you have misinterpreted this Kiba's words." Takashi says. The twins look at him cluelessly. "What he meant was, if you can take care of yourselves, work for your own survival, then he will be happy. That doesn't mean stealing things to get through life, because stealing will put you both in jail."  
>The kids shivered at the world jail. "W-we don't wanna go to jail!" They cried.<br>I stood up, taking the spotlight. "Children! Come with me, we'll return everything you stole to everyone and do the right thing!"  
>They lifted their attention towards me, and wiped the tears from their faces. With a synchronised nod from them, we were off.<p> 


	48. Chapter 48

We returned everything to their rightful owners, and in return (mostly because of their cute little faces) the people kindly donated small amounts of change, and at the end of the day it was a fair bit of money for the both of them.  
>They decided they would continue living in that small little... well I can't really call it a house, so I'll say shelter. Though, as I was waving goodbye, I felt irritated.<p>

"You know what, I'll go find some help and we'll all rebuild this little place!" I explaim. The twins' expressions lit up.

So off I went, to find some helpers; and who would've guessed who was walking by (on their hands). TEAM GAI!  
>I didn't notice it, but a huge grin appeared on my face. "GUYS!" I call excitedly.<br>They all looked up, towards me. They all smiled, except for Neji, smiles don't suit him, he only twitched the corner of his mouth.  
>"SETSUKI-CHAAAAAANNN!" Lee cried out, as he almost tackled me to the ground. I could only laugh. I heard Tenten mutter something like '<em>chan<em>' and '_first time that Lee said_'. I ignored it.  
>"LEE!" I blurt out in fits of laughter, I don't even know why I was laughing. I was just happy I guess. Gai aboslutely refused to quit the handstanding.<br>I told them about the twins, and they agreed to help me. It was perfect, with Gai-sensei and Lee's strength, and spirit, we could repair the building in double- no, triple time!

It seemed more like a competition between myself, Lee and Gai-sensei on who could do the most work, Neji and Tenten just supplied water and played with the twins. Well, mostly Tenten. Neji kind of tried to wonder off several times saying something about needing to be elsewhere, but we didn't let him.

We managed to repair the building by evening, the place looked almost brand new!  
>With a huge high five amongst each other, we celebrated with a small feast inside, (which for some reason Lee was willing to pay for..) we had built wooden benches and placed them around a small fireplace, with cushions, and there we sat. Stuffing our faces uncontrollably, trying to get the last bite in. Even the twins showed a wild side.<br>Lee told me about his most recent mission, and the fact that he really hates cats. After hearing his story I doubted the scratches on his face were really from a grizzly bear...  
>"No no! I implore you! It was huge!" Lee made a gesture, reaching as high in the air as he could on his toes. "About this big, honest!"<br>"Lee you dreamt it." Tenten grumbled, sipping a bit of herbal tea she made.  
>"TENTEN! DO NOT DOUBT ME!"<br>"Oh I believe you Lee-san!" I say. He looks down at me with surprise, then collapses his legs to fall onto his butt, sitting in front of me again.  
>"R-really?"<br>"Yeah!"  
>"SEE TENTEN! SETSUKI-CHA- er... I mean... S-SETSUKI-SAN BELIEVES ME!" Lee's face may have gone a little red, but I thought it was from the fire in his eyes.<br>"Yeah yeah, you two will believe anything.." Tenten grumbled again.  
>Lee shook his head disappointedly, and faced me again, with his back towards the others. "Listen, Setsuki-san, I have something very very important I must tell you!"<br>"Oh? Wh-what is it Lee?"  
>Suddenly, everyone, especially Gai-sensei leaned in over us, with massive smirks that Jiraiya gets when he sees a naked girl...<br>Lee reached into the top part of his suit, searching for something. They began snickering and making '_eeee~_' sounds. It got me clueless.  
>"I WANT YOU TO HAVE THIS RAMEN COUPON I FOUND ON THE STREET!" Lee shouted as he pulled out a coupon for Ichirakus; buy two get one free.<br>I smiled brightly as I took the coupon from him, with a thank you the guys all fell to the floor as if disappointed.  
>"It.. it's getting late!" Gai-sensei humbly said as he stood up, brushing some saw dust off him from the ground.<br>"THEN PLEASE ALLOW ME TO WALK YOU HOME SETSUKI-SAN!" Lee stood up in an instant, his arm making a perfect 45 degree angle in a salute.  
>I didn't think much of it as I stood up and brushed myself off.<br>"Sure!" I respond.

We say goodnight to the twins, and tuck them into their new beds then leave for home.  
>Of course Lee followed me home, and we walked side by side. But for the first time ever between the two of us, there was this awkward silence, that neither of us could get rid off.<br>Until I finally cleared my throat and spoke up.  
>"So.. how are things with Sakura-chan?" I inquire.<br>"O-oh! Sakura-chan! Yes! ... Well..." Lee's shoulders slumped sadly. His head drooped. "She still likes that Uchiha.. even though he's not even here anymore..."  
>"Oh.. well.. did you... think of getting her something like... um... flowers?" I inquire. "Flowers always cheer a girl up!"<br>"Cheer.. up?" Lee slowly raised his head, to look at me.  
>"Yes! What kind of girl doesn't like flowers! I know Sakura-chan does! She especially likes cherry blossoms! You could try getting her a bouquet! I can help!"<br>"Oh! You would? Thank you Setsuki-san!" Lee wrapped his arms around me tightly, I think I felt a tear hit my shoulder. "Th-this time, I cannot fail to win Sakura-chan's heart!"

Before I knew it, we were standing outside my house. I kind of felt disappointed, I actually really wanted to spend more time with Lee..  
>We said goodnight, and I went inside, changed and laid down in bed. Then one look at my broken window and I remembered that I had completely forgotten to see Lady Tsunade! I felt bad, what would Takashi do!? I promised him I would get another mission! I sat up. "I have to go see her! No matter what!"<br>I quickly rushed outside again and ran down the street, secretly hoping to find Lee aswell. And I did, Lee was walking down the same footpath, so I ran up behind him and tried to scare him.  
>"BAAH!"<br>"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Lee cringed and cowered on the ground, huddled in a ball quivering. I couldn't help but laughh.  
>"Hehehe, Lee it's only me!"<br>"S-S-S-Setsuki-san!? Y-you scar- YOU DIDN'T SCARE ME AT ALL! AHA!" Lee jumped to his feet, his legs were shaking. "You'll have to do better than that to scare Konoha's Handsome Devil!" Lee ran his hand through his hair, making himself look rather.. charming. I avert my eyes and pretend I saw nothing. "Wait.. what are you doing out here Setsuki-san?"  
>"Oh.. I completely forgot I was meant to see Tsunade today! I was hoping.. maybe.. you could come with me?"<br>There was a slight pause that made me feel stupid for asking it, after all Lee was probably tired and just wanted to go home and sleep. "Actually don-"  
>"Of course Setsuki-san! I will come with you!"<br>A smile cracked open on my face.

Repeatedly I knocked on Tsunade's door, but no answer. I sighed and slid down the door, sitting on the ground.  
>"Aw.. don't give up Setsuki-san! I am sure we will find her!"<br>"Nah, don't worry about it. I'll just come see her tomorrow."  
>"Setsuki-san! I will help you find Tsunade-sama!"<br>I lift my attention to Lee, standing over me, holding a fist to my face, this thumb standing tall and strong in the air. When I turned my eyes to his face, I swear his teeth were gleaming. He opened his hand, to help me up. So I took his hand and he pulled me up, however he slipped on the rug, causing him to pull me a little closer than intended. He almost fell, but caught his own balance, I don't know how my head got on his shoulder, but it was there, my body pressed against his, almost like some sort of embrace. I could feel his tone.. muscular body against mine, his body heat... everything.. I could've cried, my stomach felt numb, I felt like I wasn't breathing, my body was extremely tense. My face burned, and my head felt light... extremely light... i couldn't see properly, I don't know what the feeling was.. Genjutsu perhaps? No.. it was something else.. something I've never felt before.. and the longer I stayed like that, the more Lee tensed. The fact that I wasn't getting off him, made the situation worse. But I felt.. embarrassed? Or.. maybe... too shy.. to move? No.. I was scared to move, scared of his reaction to this, but staying like this only frightened me more. My whole body went numb, my mind when blank and all I could see was black.

I woke up to the sound of a rooster chirping outside. I immediately sit up straight, I was in my bed. I look around, not remembering actually going to bed. Then I remembered last night! My face burned again, my stomach hurt, so I wrap my arms around it.  
>What happened to Lee? What exactly happened..?<br>I stayed swimming in my ocean of questions for at least an hour, until Takashi entered my room all of a sudden. "Setsuki? Oh you are awake.. what's wrong? You're not sick are you? You didn't get up as early as normal, I was worried."  
>"U-uh.. I'm okay uncle.."<br>"Oh? Why's your face red? You haven't caught a fever have you? You know the drill, cover your mouth, and sneeze in a tissue.." Takashi approached me, and put his hand on my forehead. "... Indeed you do have a temperature.. this is why you mustn't stay out so late with your friends, Setsuki, okay?"  
>"F-friend! Uncle, can you tell me what happened last night?" I ask, completely ignoring his statements. I stare eagerly and someone frightened toward him, and dreading the answer.<br>"Uh.. well your friend.. Rocky brought you back here last night about 11.. you were asleep, he said you had mysteriously fallen unconscious.."  
>"Wait.. 11? But it was only 9:30 when we went to see Tsunade!" I exclaim.<br>"Yes well, let me finish. He had spent all that time searching for Lady Tsunade for you apparently, and when he couldn't find her, he brought you home to me." He stopped to laugh. "He thought you had caught some sort of deadly disease, but you were only asleep."  
>"Did.. he say what happened when I '<em>Fell unconscious<em>'?"  
>"Well, he said something along the lines of, you fell over and he caught you '<em>Heroically<em>' then you passed out. Somewhat reminds me of your Hyuuga friend around that blondie."  
>"Y-yeah... okay.. thanks uncle!" I push him out of my room so I could get dressed, I didn't know why, but I suddenly felt happy. Happy that Lee devoted so much time into finding Tsunade for me, and that he brought me home.. but was he.. mad at me? I mean... he had to be.. right?<p> 


	49. Chapter 49

As I walked the streets, after skipping breakfast, I hoped to find Lee, but at the same time, I felt frightened to.  
>I still had no idea what would've been going through that boy's mind, last night, or even now. Would he think different of me? Would he think I'm some sort of weirdo?<p>

"SETSUKI-SAAAAAAN!" The familiar, warming voice made me feel at ease. I turn to greet the green beast running up to me. I force on a smile, my heartbeat sped up.  
>"Hi Lee-san!"<br>He seemed out of breath. "You missed our morning training!"  
>"Oh! Right, yeah I didn't get up till late and uh-"<br>"WHAT?! YOU STAYED IN BED!? You must be sick Setsuki-san!"  
>I giggle quietly, amused. "No no I'm fine really!" It seemed Lee had either completely forgotten about last night.. or he'd definitely completely forgotten about last night.. thank goodness.<p>

The two of us went to see Tsunade who was in a foul mood. When I asked about any missions she had none. Then Lee suggested working for some people in the village, they might repay us.

So it was. The first half of the day I spend working hard alongside Lee, helping people around the village, helping with gardening, babysitting, grocery shopping, and chasing after lost pets. It was hard work, but it paid for almost half of the money I needed to fix the window! Lee got a fair amount too!  
>We decided to take a break and rest in the meadows, far outside of the village. There we laid in the knee-high grass which tickled our noses as it danced with the wind, facing up at the dark sky which continuously loomed from day to day.<br>"Hey, Setsuki-san." He waitined for my response, which I gave. "You have half the money for your window right?"  
>"That's right."<br>It went quiet for a moment, the only sound was the blades of grass attacking each other, and the wind flying past us. Lee sat up, and seconds later, so did I.  
>"I want you to have this!" Lee spoke, handing out a lot of change in his hand.<br>"What..? No, Lee I can't take your money, I mean.. you worked so hard, it's yours!"  
>Lee shook his head furiously, grabbed my wrist and placed the money in my palm, then closed my fingers over it. "No no I insist! You have it Setsuki-san! With that you can afford it!"<br>"But.. Lee.." I didn't know what to say. My stomach hurt again, but I tried to ignore it.  
>"I refuse to take it back! It's yours now! Go get that new window Setsuki-san! After all, the nights are getting colder, and... I wouldn't want you getting cold every night! It is not good to be sick on Christmas!" He began ranting on about the things we could do over winter. I stopped listening after a while, I was too boiled up in happiness. It was so good to have such nice friends. I interrupted Lee's rant by tackling him into a hug, a tight one. I didn't say anything, nor did I feel that I had to. He rubbed my back, and told me not to faint again, I knew then, what had happened last night. I fainted. But why?<p>

Two weeks passed, and it was deep within winter. Snow covered the village, draining all of the colours out and replacing it with white, even the decorations were invisible.  
>I liked the sight of kids playing in the snow, and snow ball fights and skiing! It was all so much fun! Of course, it'd be fun if I actually stopped standing around and did something.<br>I felt something hard pelt my arm, and it caused me to whine. It was a snowball. A harshly thrown snowball. I turn to the direction in which it came, and saw Gai-sensei hiding behind a wall of snow, giggling away to himself. As soon as I saw a bruise coming out of my arm where it hit, I knew he wasn't gonna play nicely.  
>I roll up my own snowball, jump onto the closes building and run along the slippery roof towards Gai-sensei, preparing for a headshot. But of course, as I got to a perfect distance, my foot slipped on the snow, and I tumbled off the roof and head first into the ground, then a barrel-full of snow fell on top of me. Might I say it was a tad cold?<p>

"WAAH LEMME OUT ITS COLD! HELP!" I try to escape the grasp of the evil snow, but I was only burying myself in further. I felt something grab my foot, and it pulled me out, Gai-sensei. He held me up in the air, as if taunting me.  
>"GAI-SENSEI! PUT HER DOWN! SETSUKI-SAAAAAN! ARE YOU HURT?!" Lee came crying, shoving his sensei aside, allowing me to fall, again, face first into the cold snow. I only groan in pain.<br>"Yeaah.. I'm fine.. I think." Lee grabbed my brown wooly coat and stood me up straight and brushed the snow off it.  
>"Bahaha! How am I meant to have a good snowball fight when my opponent buries herself in the snow?!" Gai-sensei questions, playfully. I grinned and leaned on Lee, shivering from the cold. Lee answered by putting his arm around me to keep me warm. Neither of us thought any thing of it.<br>Gai-sensei gave us a strange expression, like a smug grin. Lee and I face each other and shrug.  
>"Come on Setsuki-san, lets go get a hot chocolate!"<br>"Okay!" I reply eagerly.

We head to the cafe, his arm still around me as I lean against him the entire time. Sakura was on her way out of the cafe when she spotted us.  
>"Oh hey you two~" She chimed, a smirk across her face.<br>"Sakura-chan!" I grin.  
>"S-SAKURA-CHWAAAN!" Lee leaped forward, kneeled on one knee and held out a small note to her. Sakura curiously blinked a few times before taking it.<br>"What's this?" She turned it and scrutinised it front to back.  
>"I-it's my wish for you Sakura-chan! Heh...heh.. M-merry Christmas!" Lee stuttered nervously.<br>Sakura smiled sweetly and tucked it in her pocket, obviously she was going to open it later. "Thank you Lee, but Christmas isn't until next week you know."  
>Lee almost burst out into tears as she turned and walked away, giving him the cold shoulder. I felt sad for him, so I picked him up off the ground and hugged him.<br>"Does she always do this?" I ask.  
>Lee hugged back. "Almost every time..." He sighed deeply.<br>I just had to cheer him up! "Lets go get our hot chocolates!" I take his hand and lead him inside.

I drank mine within 2 minutes, but Lee only sat there staring sadly at his, he hadn't even touched it!  
>It wasn't like Lee to be down like this.. it made me feel eager to cheer him up! But how? Perhaps doing something he liked would cheer him up!<br>"Hey Lee-san! Wanna go run a few laps of the village to warm up?" I ask, enthusiastically.  
>He didn't even raise his eyes from the cup when he answered in a low tone. "No thank you.."<br>Now I knew this was serious. I wanted to see him laugh.  
>I pulled a stupid face, hoping he'd look at me. He did, he glimpsed up at me, then became confused. I grin, pulling an even stupider face. I saw the tiniest little bit of movement on his mouth. It was working. I snort like a pig (unintentionally) which caused him to make a brief laugh. I started to laugh, and the more I laughed, the more he laughed. We laughed until our ribs started to hurt.<br>"S-Setsuki-san! What _are_you doing?" He asked between laughs as he calmed down.  
>"I dunno! But it worked! You're smiling!" I grin. "You look much better when you smile!"<br>His eyes opened, his cheeks flashed red as he averted his eyes temporarily. After that he gazed into my eyes, I only shined a bigger smile, causing him to do the same.  
>"Setsuki! Lee! There you guys are!" Tenten called as she came running over.<br>"Oh, Tenten! What brings you here?" Lee asked.  
>"Look!" Tenten pulled out a flier with a picture of two people in a ballroom dance. "Konohas having a ball on Christmas Eve! Doesn't that sound romantic!" Tenten sighed dreamily, her cheeks went pink. "Setsuki, Lee you both need to find partners to go with!" She said.<br>"THEN I WILL NO DOUBT MAKE SAKURA-CHAN MY PARTNER!" Lee stood up, slamming his hands on the table, his fierce eyes burned with flames of love.  
>I didn't know who I wanted to go with, so I smiled at Lee, admiring his determination. If I could help Lee have Sakura-chan as a partner, then he might become really happy!<p>

Two days of failure passed rather quickly. Sakura kept turning Lee down every time! It was beginnning to go to Lee's head that perhaps he wasn't good enough for Sakura... Except this time, I couldn't make him smile, he was just too upset..

The third day I waited for Lee at the lamppost at the end of Sakura's street. I waited. And waited. An hour passed. I sat down beside it. "Lee.. Where are you? You said we'd meet here an hour ago.." i rested my head against the ice cold pole, and watched as the light snow fell. I didn't understand, what is Sakura's problem with Lee? Why was she making him so upset?

I just sat there and kept waiting. Hoping Lee would arrive with some excuse, any excuse would be fine, just as long as he turned up.. Then I heard footsteps approaching me. I look up excitedly, but immediately became disappointed at the sight of Gai-sensei.  
>"Setsuki, have you seen Lee?"<br>I shook my head, frowning as I return my eyes to the ground. "No.."  
>"Odd.. that boy didn't turn up to our morning training!"<br>I look up again, in surprise. Lee _always_turns up to training. Gai-sensei and I stare each other down curiously.

Upon arriving at Lee's apartment, Gai-sensei pounds on the door. "Lee! If you're in there, open up!"  
>Silence.<br>I clear my throat. "Lee-san! Please open the door!"  
>Again, silence.<br>"Alright, this calls for.." Gai-sensei builds up his breath, and points at the door. "SUDDEN-DOOR-BURSTING-ENTRY!" I tilt my head as he took a step back.  
>"Sudden-"<br>"HYAAAAAA!" Gai-sensei kicks down the door with a huge force, causing the door to fly into the room and smash into pieces against the wall inside. I sweatdrop. "Alright Lee! Where are you!?" Gai-sensei began roaming the apartment, I followed.


	50. Chapter 50

Lee was in his room, with the door shut. Curled into a ball with his head buried.  
>I was about to approach him gently when Gai-sensei started roaring.<br>"LEE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"  
>Lee jumped out of his skin, when he faced us he had tears rolling down his cheeks. "G-Gai-sensei!" He quickly wiped his face on his arm. Poor Lee wasn't even dressed, he only had his boxer shorts on, and I couldn't stop gazing at his body... luckily neither of them noticed.<br>"Where have you been!? You missed training this morning!" Gai-sensei continued to complain.  
>"I-I... um.." Lee sighed deeply as he turned to the window and stared out, somewhat sadly. I'd finally gained control of my eyes and turned them to his face. He remained sitting and buried his face again into his knees.<br>"Lee.. is something bothering you?" Gai-sensei asked.  
>Lee kind of mumbled, then replied in a muffled tone. "It's just.. I don't feel like I'm good enough.. I can't get Sakura-chan to even notice me anymore... no matter how hard I try I.. just keep failing... I'm a failure.." Lee started to sob.<br>"Lee.." I started to approachi him, to embrace him. To comfort him. However, Gai-sensei got to him first.  
>"LEEEEE!" Gai-sensei shouted as he ran towards his student who lifted his teary face. Gai-sensei smashed his fist into Lee's face, causing him to slam into the wall with a painful cry. My eyes widened at the sight, a small gasp escaped my lips. Gai-sensei stood with one hand on his hip and the other pointing intimidatingly at Lee. Lee looked up with frightened eyes at his sensei, a small trail of blood escaped his lips and ran down his chin. "THAT IS QUITTERS TALK LEE! I NEVER WANT TO HEAR THAT AGAIN, YOU HEAR?! ARE YOU SAYING THAT AFTER ALL THE EFFORT YOU'RE PUTTING IN, YOU CAN'T DO IT!? ARE YOU!?"<br>Lee was too frightened to speak.  
>Gai-sensei's face was turning red with anger. "WE'VE HAD THIS TALK LEE, YEARS AGO! IS IT BECAUSE YOU CANNOT PERFORM NINJUTSU!? OR GENJUTSU!? I'VE SAID THIS BEFORE LEE, YOU DON'T NEED THAT TO BE SUCCESSFUL! LOOK AT ME LEE, DON'T TURN AWAY! AFTER EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE, YOU'RE REALLY GOING TO QUIT?!"<br>Lee's eyes began to water. "I-I..."  
>"TELL ME LEE, ARE YOU GOING TO QUIT?!" Gai-sensei's stare was intense and frightening, full of fury. Lee lowered his eyes the slightest bit.<br>"N-no Gai-sensei..." He mumbled.  
>"What was that?! SPEAK UP!"<br>""NO GAI-SENSEI! I WON'T GIVE UP!" Lee shouted. A smile found it's way onto Gai-sensei's face.  
>"THAT'S MY LEE!" Gai-sensei spread his arms, invitingly. Lee's eyes released more tears, as he bolted into his sensei's grip. The pair shared their tight embrace, it was quite the eye-watering scene. Gai-sensei placed his hands on Lee's shoulders and pulled back to look into his student's eyes. "I don't ever want to hear you say you're not good enough ever again, Lee. You're better than that!"<br>Lee gave a proud nod, but still he seemed sad under that mask of happiness. "It's.. just that Sakura-chan..."  
>"Lee, you will win her heart one day. If not, chase after ones who love you Lee."<br>"Love.. me?" Lee tilted his head curiously. Gai-sensei grinned, grinned more than ever.  
>"That's right Lee. A lesson for both you and that Sakura."<br>Lee looked clueless, and so did I. "Do you know someone Gai-sensei?" I ask. Gai-sensei swung his fist towards me, making me flinch, he showed me an up-right thumb - inches from my face, then made an affirmative noise as he nodded.  
>"Who is it, Gai-sensei!?" I question.<br>"Ahh now, that is for you two to find out for yourselves!"  
>Lee whined. "Gai-sensei, please!"<br>Gai-sensei shook his head. "No. But I will give you a hint." Lee and I leaned in close, eagerly staring into his eyes. In the corner of my eye, I saw Lee take out his notepad from who know where. "The one who loves Lee.."  
>"Uh huh, uh huh!"<br>"Is..."  
>"UH HUH?!"<br>"Most likely going to ask him to be her partner at the Christmas ball in three days!" Gai-sensei announced, proudly. We fell to the floor with disappointment.  
>"Well Lee-san!" I face Lee, we make eye contact. "Lets go find whoever this girl is that will ask you!"<br>Lee seemed keen, he nodded in concur. "YOSH!"

After Lee dressed himself, we were off to find this girl. Like two detectives solving a case, we search the village for clues, following the girls, especially Sakura around, not stalking! We were... uh... l-looking for clues!

Lee made numerous notes during the day, and by evening, we sat down at the cafe, discussing what we had found out.  
>Lee flipped his notebook open. "Okay, I found out..."<br>"Yes yes?"  
>"Sakura-chan likes pink dresses!"<br>I could've facepalmed. "Lee, how is that meant to help with this?"  
>"I do not know, but maybe if I buy Sakura-chan a pink dress for the ball, she might ask me!" He reached into his pocket, pulled out a pink wig and placed it on his head, it looked exactly like Sakura's hair, then he spoke in a high pitched voice. "Ohh~ Lee-kun~ This dress is beautiful! We should go to the ball together!" He took the wig off, his cheeks turn red. "Of course Sakura-chan! I'll be your partner!" He put the wig back on. "Lee-kun! I love you so much! In fact, I love you more than the dress! We should get married and live far away in a field of roses and lillies, in a small cottage with our three children-"<br>"O-okay Lee I get it.." I grumble, but secretly amused.  
>He gave a smug chuckle before sitting back down.<br>"So what else did you find out?"  
>Lee flipped a page in his notebook. "Sakura-chan, likes-"<br>"Is Sakura the only one you took notes on?"  
>"... Yes!"<br>I headbutted the table.

Our stalking- I mean, cluetaking turned out to be pointless. But I helped Lee to buy that pretty pink dress in the window. All we had to do was find Sakura-chan. It was getting late, and we figured she'd gone home. We took the dress to Tenten, and asked her if she could wrap it up for us, but she kept ripping the wrapping paper. So we took it to Ino, and she did a nice job of wrapping then thought the dress was for her. She fumed when we explained it was for Sakura, and accidentally tore the wrapping open, but luckily the dress was inside a box, so it didn't get damaged.  
>We then took it to Hinata, who kindly re-wrapped it for us. We notice she was rather quieter than usual. Lee took notes.<p>

As we admired the stars on our way to Sakura-chan's house to deliver the dress, Lee made an observation. "Setsuki-san.."  
>"Yes?"<br>"Did you notice the way Hinata-san didn't look at me the entire time?"  
>"She didn't?""<br>"Gai-sensei says that girls who usually like someone try to avoid eye contact.. do you think.. maybe.. Hinata...?"  
>"Hm.. well.. I hate to disappoint you Lee-san, but I'm sure she likes Naruto-"<br>"Oh right! I knew that!" He laughed somewhat nervously while scratching the back of his head. I grabbed his wrist.  
>"DON'T MESS UP YOUR HAIR LEE, WHAT WOULD SAKURA-CHAN THINK IF YOUR HAIR WASN'T PERFECT?!"<br>Lee's eyes widened, he froze. "Y-YOU'RE RIGHT!" He quickly 'fixed' his hair. "How is it?!"  
>"It looks... wait no." I took over and fixed his hair properly. "Now it looks good!"<br>Lee flashed a smile. "Also, Tenten is out."  
>"Out?"<br>"Tenten likes Neji-kun!"  
>"Well.. I think we all knew that." I reply with a smirk.<br>"So.. that leaves Sakura, and Ino?"  
>"Both Sasuke lovers.."<br>"I WILL PROVE I AM BETTER THAN THAT UCHIHA!"  
>I smile.<p>

We arrive late at Sakura's doorstep. I hid against the wall so when Sakura was to open the door, she wouldn't see me.  
>However Lee stood there, staring at the door. Sweat dripped down his neck. He was nervous. I picked up a small rock and threw it at the door. Lee flinched.<br>"Go on!" I whisper. Lee gulped, nodded and knocked on the door twice before it opened. Sakura.  
>"Hello- oh.. Lee, what are you doing here this late?"<br>"S-Sakura-chan!" Lee lowered his head and held up the present. "This is for you!"  
>"Oh.. for me?" Sakura took the present. "Thank you Lee. I'll go place it under our tree."<br>"W-wait! Sakura-chan! Please, open it!"  
>"But Lee, it's not Christmas yet-"<br>"Sakura-chan! I beg you!" Lee dropped to his knees, held his hands together under his chin, giving Sakura-chan huge puppy eyes.  
>Sakura bit the inside of her cheek in contemplation, then sighed. "Alright I will." She teared off the wrapping, then opened the box. A happy gasp escaped her lips as she pulled the dress out and held it up. "Wow, it's beautiful!"<br>Lee was shaking with a huge smile, his eyes sparkling, I couldn't tell if he was shaking in happiness or he was just cold. "D-Do you like it, Sakura-chan?"  
>"Oh Lee, I love it! Thank you!" She chimed. I smile, it had to be Sakura. Deep down Sakura had to have some feelings for Lee. "Though.. isn't it a little cold for this?"<br>Lee pulled out a flower, it looked like a purple pansy. "I-I want you to be my partner at the ball on Christmas!"  
>Sakura was silent. "Aww Lee.. I would love to.. but I have to go away to visit my dad on Christmas.. Sorry Lee, I'll make it up to you somehow."<br>Lee looked crushed. "I.. d... Do not worry Sakura-chan, I understand..."  
>"I really am sorry Lee, I would love to go though." Sakura said, she took hold of the door knob. A woman's voice began calling her name. "I.. I have to go. Goodnight Lee." Sakura closed the door.<br>"Aww.." Lee slouched, disappointed.  
>"Well... Lee-san, there's always Ino.."<br>"I guess you're right.. I absolutely will not give up! I will find the one who loves me! Whether it be Sakura-chan or not!"


	51. Chapter 51

The next morning arrived. Lee and I had crashed outside, leaning back to back on each other, snoozing away. Covered in a light blanket of snow, frozen half to death.  
>"Lee! Setsuki!" Tenten's loud voice roared, then I felt a slap across my face, it woke me up. Tenten slapped Lee as well, the two of us howled for a moment, before realizing we were cold. We suddenly clung to each other like magnets, shivering.<br>"W-What h-happened last n-n-night Setsuki-s-san?" Lee inquired.  
>"I d-don't know L-Lee-san.." I reply.<br>"Honestly, don't tell me you two were up all night training and fell asleep on the street! Setsuki your uncle was worried about you not coming home last night!" Tenten gushed. I didn't care, all I cared about was trying to warm up, and hugging Lee's freezing cold and shivering body wasn't helping.

Tenten took us back to the cafe where we downed at least 4 cups of boiling hot tea. It burned our mouthes, but at least it warmed us up.  
>As we sat, Tenten continued to ramble on about the ball in two days time, the only thing on my mind, and probably Lee's too, was finding that girl.<br>I spoke to Lee while Tenten continued to ramble. "Lee-san, you don't suppose some of the boys might know?"  
>"Like who, Setsuki-san?"<br>"I dunno, I'll go ask some!" I announce.  
>"Hey! I was talki-"<br>"YOSH! I will too, Setsuki-san!" Lee blurted, cutting Tenten off. The two off us split up to find people.

I first found Kiba and Shino chilling at the training fields, leaning against a fallen tree, Kiba leaning against the trunk, Shino facing away, against the roots.  
>"Ball? Kuh I'm not going..." Kiba scoffed.<br>"Why not." I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.  
>"Dancings just not my think ya know? Besides.. I have other plans... on that day.." His voice trailed off, as if hiding something, but I didn't pry. I rolled my eyes and faced Shino.<br>"Shino-kun what about y-"  
>Without shifting his gaze at the forest, he replied coldly. "..I don't dance..."<br>I groan. "You guys suck! ... Oh by the way.. do you happen to know who Ino likes?"  
>"Ino? She likes any guy with a fit body. Oh, and good looks too." Kiba replied, shifting his gaze to the sky boredly.<br>A lightbulb lit up in my mind, I click my fingers. "Right! That is obviously Lee-san!" Without saying goodbye, I was off, to find Ino.

"Ino!"  
>"Ugh, what do <em>you<em>want? Can't you see I'm _busy_with my shopping!?" Ino snapped.  
>I ignored her remark. "Who's your partner for the ball?"<br>"Oh, well.. I'm surprised I don't have one yet! Clearly the boys around here have bad taste in women." She placed one hand on her hip and the other running fingers through her hair. "I mean, who could resist me?" She giggled.  
>"So... you don't have a partner?"<br>"Mmm, not yet, but I will.. why? Who's your partner Setsuki?"  
>"Me? Oh.. I don't have one yet, I'm trying to help Lee-san get a partner!"<br>"You still call him san? Aren't you two closer than aquaintances?"  
>I became silent.<br>"Why don't you go with him to the ball, considering you two are like, really close?"  
>"N-no, Ino, you don't understand! The only girl he's allowed to go to the ball with is the one that is in love with him!" I explain. She got a look of confusion. I gave her an eager look.<br>"M-me?" She started to laugh. "No way, I prefer handsome men! Shame Sasuke-kun isn't here... still, Lee just isn't... my definition of handsome." She explains.  
>"So you're not in love with him?"<br>"What? Good heavens no!" She laughed. I grumble to myself, then turn around.  
>"Fine fine, bye." I run off, jump over a few buildings.<p>

Sure I would like to go with Lee to the ball, but Gai-sensei specifically said the girl who asks him is the one that loves him, and that can't be me! We're only friends..!

I found Shikamaru lazing about on a rooftop and approach him. "Shikamaru! Shikamar-"  
>"What?"<br>"Are you going to the ball?"  
>"No."<br>"Why not?"  
>".. Ngh, all that effort to learn the dance.. and get suits and stuff.. it's just too troublesome. I'd rather sleep.." He grumbles, not even bothering to open his eyes. I shook my head in disappointment.<br>"Hey Shikamaru, do any of the girls you know like Lee-san?"  
>"What? Erm.. I don't know... I don't get involved with all that love stuff.. it's too much trouble."<br>Again I shook my head, I said bye, then backflipped off the building and almost get run over by Choji who was jogging after a chip packet floating away in the wind. It flew into me and he grabbed it.  
>"Hey thanks Setsuki. I thought I was never gonna catch it." He sneered and pulled out the one remaining chip and munched it down.<br>".. Say, Choji!"  
>"Huh?"<br>"Are you going to the ball in two days?"  
>"Uhh.. will there be food?" I give a nod. "Then yes!"<br>"You'll need a partner..."  
>"Oh, oh! Hey maybe Ino will be my partner!"<br>"Sure! Good luck Choji!" I call as he began running off to find her.

I kept walking until I stumble across my dear friend Naruto.  
>"NARUTO!" I shout as I run up to him, giving him a big hug.<br>"WHA- OH! SETSUKI!" He grinned.  
>I ask him the same series of questions, and he said he was keen on asking Sakura. I tried to explain to him that Sakura wasn't gonna be here, but he didn't listen because he was on his way to get ramen, and apparently his ears don't work when he's hungry. So I let him go.<p>

I began to run out of people to ask, and I couldn't think of any other girls... except.. her..  
>It was a long shot, but I may as well should try. I set off to the Inuzuka compound, looking for that annoying Inuzuka girl.<p>

She found me. "Oh hey, what're _you_doing here?" The redhead spoke.  
>"Kaze, who's your partner for the ball?"<br>She growled. "It's _Akakaze_. And I ain't going to no ball, eugh those things, dancing on time with people, gross. I don't like that sort of-"  
>"Who do you like?"<br>"Eh?"  
>"You must love someone?"<br>"PAH! LOVE?! BAHAHA! I ain't got time for that crap!" She walked away laughing. Well, that was my last attempt. Was Gai-sensei telling the truth?

As I wondered back down the streets, I saw Lee annoying Neji. I decided to join.  
>"Lee! Stop it! Leave me alone! I'm not going!"<br>"But Neji! You must! Tenten is wanting to go with you!"  
>"Tenten..? No! I'm not going!"<br>I but in. "Neji! You have to! Gai-sensei said it'd be good training!"  
>"Even more reason not to go!" He growled.<br>"Setsuki-san! How did it go?"  
>"I.. didn't find anything, and barely anyone is actually gonna go!"<br>Lee and I make a synchronised sigh.  
>"What are you two talking about?"<br>Lee spoke up. "Gai-sensei said there's a girl that is in love with me, and that I must set my heart to her, and he said she would be the one to ask me to dance at the ball on Christmas! But neither Setsuki-san or myself can find any clues on who it is!"  
>"... Well.." Neji looked between the two of us, a thought on his mind. "Why don't you just wait until she comes to you then?" Neji's tone made him sound like he doubted Gai-sensei's words. But he had a point.<p>

Christmas Eve, everyone was getting excited. Particularly Lee. I was surpised Daisuke-kun hadn't come to me yet.

"Susumu!"

"Huh? S-Setsuki?!" Susumu sat up and faced me with surprise. "Where've you been all this time? It feels like forever."

"I know!" I start giggling. "I was actually wondering where you guys have been!"

"Well, lets see.. Komaru-sensei went on a mission ages ago, like, last month.. and Daisuke left at the start of the month with his family to visit some relatives or something for Christmas.. where have you been?"

"Oh.. I've been everywhere! I went on a mission last month with Lee-san's squad.." I went on to tell him about the mission, and everything I'd done since I got back up till this moment.

"Oh.. the ball huh? I'm not gonna go, it's too much trouble for me. Who are you going with?"

"I-.. I don't have a partner.. so I figured Daisuke would be, but.."

"Ah.. well, go ask around I suppose. It's not just the boy's job to ask you know." He mentions.

"But.. I don't know who I wanna go with!" I explain. He shrugs his shoulders.

"Why not that Lee kid? You seem fond of him?" I shook my head, then explained the situation. "Right... well.. go, ask the next person you see.."

I turn my head and scan the area, then look back at Susumu. "Erm... why are you.. looking at me like that?"

"You are the first person I saw! Susumu-kun, please be my partner!" I plead.

Susumu glared at me for a moment, then sighed deeply, mumbling something under his breath. "Suppose I shouldn't let those dancing lessons go to waste.." He looks up at me, then nods. "Alright.."

"YAY! Thank you Susumu!" I hug him.

"Y-yeah yeah, get off.." He doesn't like human contact too much.. ".. I gotta go find a suit or somethin.. maybe dad has something.."

"Susumu~!" A woman's voice called from inside - didn't sound like his mother.

".. What?" He grumbled. A woman walked out of the door, I've never seen her before. She had long light blonde hair that reached her thighs, and dark brown eyes, she stood somewhat tall.

"Lunch is... oh? Who's this?"

"Uh.." Susumu turned to the woman. "This is my teammate, Kuromizu."

"Setsuki!" I announce. She smiled sweetly.

"Kuromizu-san, nice to meet you. I'm Nara, Megumi. I'm Susumu's older sister." She introduced herself.

"Sister? You didn't tell me you had a sister!" I say. Susumu shrugged his shoulders, then faced me again.

"So... I guess I'll meet you tonight."

I nod eagerly. "Yup! Bye Susumu, Megumi-san!" I call before running off to find Lee. Surely the girl must've come to him by now!

When I found him, bad news.

"Waaah! Setsuki-san! I'm going alone!" Lee wailed. I pat his back. I kind of wanted to offer for us to go together, but I already had Susumu. "Lee-san, don't give up yet! She's running late! Yes! That's what it is! She's running late!"

Lee gave me a blank expression, then believed me. "R-right! Running late! Of course! That has to be it!" Lee smiled again, then something struck him, his jaw dropped. "OH NO!"

"WHAT?!"

"I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO WEAR TONIGHT!"

I realized I didn't have anything either. "OH NO ME EITHER!"

"SETSUKI-SAN, LET US GO SHOPPING TOGETHER!"

We bought Lee's suit, and we were after a dress for me. I had my mind set - I wanted a blue one!

I was surpised that Lee was actually accompanying me through the shop as we browse around.

"Are you sure you do not want a bright green one, Setsuki-san? It would show your bright youthful spirit!" He says.

"BLUE!" I shout.

"But I really think green would-"

"BLUE!"

"GREEN!"

"BLUE!"

"GREEEEEEEN!"

We smacked our foreheads together, glaring into each others eyes, so fiercely that sparks could be seen between em.

A minute passed, then we turned away from each other folding our arms with a huff. Then I saw it! A beautiful blue dress, it was perfect! I smile and run to it, pick it up off the hanger then hold it in front of me. "Lee-san! What do you think?" I had the biggest grin in the world.

"Is it green?" Lee asked, without turning.

"... No.."

"Then I refuse to look!" He stated. I pout.

"But... Leeeeeeee-saaaann.."

He turned, then his eyes widen. "W-woah! S-Setsuki-san.. that dress is... really pretty!" He seemed dumbfounded by the sight.

"Do you approve?"

"SETSUKI-SAN! I WILL EVEN BUY IT FOR YOU!" He cried, falling to his knees in joyful tears, his fists clenched tightly and determinedly. I was sure I felt my cheeks burn up a little.

Even with my refusals, Lee insisted on buying the dress and stated that we weren't leaving the store unless he paid. I was beginning to wonder how he always had to much money.

Late that evening, I slipped into my dress, then went to Takashi, so he could zip the back of it up.

"You look stunning, Setsuki." He said with a soft smile. I blush, then smile. "Now lets go do your hair and-"

"No! I want to do my hair!" I ran to the bathroom and locked the door. I stared myself down, contemplating how I would do my hair. After 10 minutes I gave up thinking, I brushed it, tied it into a ponytail, and the shorter bits at the front stayed hanging down, it looked nice.

Takashi escorted me to the Hokage building, where the ball was to be held on the ground floor, where chairs, tables and any other furniture had been moved to the walls, creating a large empty space to dance in. After arriving he went to find some sandwiches and said he'd be going home if they didn't have salad sandwiches. When I saw him sit down with a plate full of sandwiches I was sure they were salad ones. I look around for Susumu and everyone else, some people were standing on the floor, talking, some at the buffet tables, and some walking around going to the bathrooms to check upon their appearance.

Finally, Susumu arrived, and he looked half decent, although the clothes did look a little big on him.

Kotetsu and Izumo stood on the stage in front of the mic. Kotetsu announced that the dancing would commence in 10 minutes.  
>"Do you know how to dance Setsuki...?" Susumu asked, as if scared of the answer. I answered truthfully.<p>

"Nope."

He whined.


	52. Chapter 52

Susumu left me to go get a quick drink, and seconds after drinking it he held his stomach and rushed for the bathrooms. So I sat down waiting for him. The lights dimmed and stage lights lit up the dancefloor. Everyone got their partners and held each other, awaiting the music to start.  
>I kept watch over the mens bathroom, waiting for Susumu. Kotetsu announced that there would be three rounds of dancing before the disco starts at 12.<p>

Susumu never came out, so I studied the people dancing trying to teach myself to dance. Halfway through the dance, he finally came out, and apologised for taking so long.  
>I took his hand and he lead me to the floor, where he placed a hand on my hip and held my hand in the other.<br>"Put your hand on my shoulder Setsuki." He instructed. So I did. He didn't look all that well.  
>He started pulling me around slowly, until I found my footing and might I say he was a good dancer. I had no idea what I was meant to be doing so I kept watching our feet, trying to match my movements with his.<p>

After that hour-long dance, I sat down again, I had fallen over more times than I could count. But it was fun.  
>I grabbed a few dumplings to eat and took a large glass of water and Susumu and I sat there talking, having a great time.<br>The second round was about to begin, Susumu warned me this time would be a quicker paced dance, but I was prepared! At least I thought I was.

Again, another hour passed, I felt exhausted already, who knew dancing was so tiring? We were given 30 mins break until the final round. Susumu rushed off to the bathroom again, and when he came out he had to leave because his sister had come to bring him home.  
>So I decided I'd sit there, and watch the last dance instead. Considering I don't have a partner. I saw Neji and Tenten come out of the crowd together, out of breath. I smirk at the sight, I knew Neji would turn up. I continued looking around at the people while they ate and rested. Then at a lonely table.. I saw Lee, sitting there alone. His arms folded across the table, his head buried in them. I realized, did that girl ever come to find him!?<p>

I get up to approach him, but I was stopped by the girls at a table, Hinata, Ino and Tenten who had just sat down with them.  
>"Setsuki! We were wondering where you were!" Tenten called. I walked over to the table. "You were dancing with Susumu right?"<br>"Yeah, but he's gone home now..." I turn my attention to Lee again.  
>"What're you looking at?" Ino asked, following my eye sight. Tenten and Hinata peered over too.<br>They all made a somewhat pitiful noise.  
>"Oh... yeah Lee's partner never showed." Tenten said.<br>"What?!"  
>"The one he was apparently waiting for, she never showed up.. poor guy." Tenten trailed off into a mumble. Ino and Hinata lowered their heads too.<br>"I kind of feel sorry for him.. hey, Setsuki, go cheer him up will ya? I know you two are good at making each other happy." Ino said.  
>"Yeah that's right. If there's anyone who can cheer Lee up, aside from Gai-sensei, it's you Setsuki." Tenten said. I smile and nod at them.<br>"Yeah I was on my way to.."  
>"I-I would... g-go try and cheer L-Lee-san up... b-but I don't.. like dancing... that m-much.." Hinata mumbled. Dancing! Of course! I got an idea.<br>"The third and final round will begin now, please station yourselves onto the floor." Kotetsu announced.  
>"Oh, lets go girls!" Ino said, standing up, she strutted off to find her partner, and Tenten left to find Neji. Hinata gave a graceful smile.<br>"D-don't worry about me, Setsuki-san.. go cheer Lee-san up." She stuttered. I nod and run to Lee.  
>He was either silently crying or he was sleeping. I hold my hand out to him, and clear my throat. Lee tensed for a moment.<br>"Lee-san.""  
>He raised his head, looked at my hand, his eyes widen and he looked up at me. "O-oh.. S-Setsu.."<br>"May I.. have this dance?" I inquire, smiling down at him, feeling happy to see his sad expression turn into joy.  
>"S-Setsuki-san.." He slowly smiled and took my hand. I pull him to his feet. Without saying a word we walk to the floor, and get into stance. It was a slow dance, rocking back and forth slowly with our partners.<br>Mid-way through the dance I felt tired, I rest my head against his shoulder without even thinking. But he didn't mind, because I felt his cheek rest on my head. We didn't say anything just rocked in time with the slow music.

By the end of the dance, I felt very sleepy. Lee did too, and unlike last time we were in a similar embrace, Lee was fully relaxed, his breathing moderate. I was sure our breathing was in perfect sync. But because we had our eyes closed, what we didn't realize was a large number of people watching us with amusement.

"Setsuki-san.." Lee finally spoke, breaking the everlasting silence.  
>"Mmm?"<br>Lee stopped swaying and stood still, causing me to do the same. I opened my eyes in curiosity, then saw all the faces gazing upon us. It made me flinch.  
>Lee whispered. "Why are they all watching us..?" He lifted his head and scanned the area.<br>"... I don't know.." I felt a little shy. When we caught sight of Gai-sensei hiding behind the crowd, he was in tears of happiness for some reason.

We decided to leave the dancefloor and sit at a table together. But we weren't alone, Gai-sensei, Tenten and Ino quickly joined us. Gai-sensei sat himself beside Lee, wrapping a manly arm around his student's shoulders.  
>"You did it Lee!"<br>"D.. did what, Gai-sensei?"  
>"Do I even need to answer?" He laughed quite loudly. Lee's clueless expression grew bigger.<br>Tenten and Ino leaned in close to me, smirking somewhat evilly.  
>"See, I told you Tenten~" Ino chimed.<br>"No I told you~" Tenten replied.  
>"We knew you wouldn't keep your secret in for long~" Ino said.<br>"What secret?" I ask.  
>The girls glimpse at Lee's massive clueless expression then sigh. "Are they really that oblivious?"<br>"Seems so.."  
>"What're you all talking about?!" I question. I just wanted to talk to Lee. The girls giggle quietly amongst each other, before standing up.<br>"Lets leave them be~ Come on Gai-sensei." Tenten said, as they started walking away, however Gai-sensei was too busy drooling over Lee's 'success'. Tenten ended up dragging him away by his ear.  
>Lee faced me with a strange expression. "What was all that about?"<br>"I dunno.."  
>Lee's eyes suddenly widened, as if realising something. He fell backwards out of his chair. I stood up with concern. "L-Lee-san?"<br>Lee stood up with a panicked expression. He points at me and speaks with a loud, shocked tone. "I think I know! Gai-sensei saw you dancing with me, Setsuki-san! He must thing you are the girl he was talking about!"  
>I cringe. "W-what?! You're right! That must be it! It's all a misunderstanding.. I mean, did that girl ever show up?"<br>Lee shook his head. "No she did not!"  
>"We have to clear this up with the others before they spread the word! They'll think we're in love!" I explain. Lee's jaw fell open.<br>"R-right! Let us go, Setsuki-san! I will talk to Gai-sensei, you talk to the girls!" It was a deal, we run off to tell them.

"Tenten! Ino! Wait!"  
>"Huh?"<br>I explain the truth to them, but they only laughed and they didn't believe me. I didn't want the whole village thinking Lee and I were... I shook the thought from my head. My cheeks were warm, I don't know why. I had to find Gai-sensei now, at least if we convinced him then he might tell everyone else that this is a misunderstanding.

Lee was already trying to explain it to Gai-sensei, but he was too convinced otherwise.  
>"Nonsense Lee! I told you, the girl who asks you for a dance is the one who truly loves you!"<br>"B-but Gai-sensei, Setsuki-sa-"  
>"GAI-SENSEI!" I call, running over to the pair.<br>"Setsuki! I knew you would-"  
>I cut Gai-sensei off. "Gai-sensei! You've got it all wrong! I only asked Lee to dance because his '<em>partner<em>' you were talking about never showed up! I didn't want him to be alone tonight!" I explain.  
>"Nonsense! She did turn up!" Gai-sensei announced. We both faced Gai-sensei with a questioning expression.<br>"She's right here!" Gai-sensei placed his hand on my shoulder.  
>"Gai-sensei! Setsuki-san was only-"<br>"No no no Lee! Setsuki became your partner, did she not?"  
>"I- uh.. It was only for once dance, Gai-sensei."<br>"Exactly! And you cannot dance if you don't have a partner!"  
>"But Gai-sensei.. I don't.. think I'm utterly in love with Lee!" I imply.<br>"Right! See Gai-sensei?" Lee concured. Gai-sensei shook his head with a sigh.  
>"Lee likes Sakura-chan and I-... er.."<br>"Well Setsuki, tell us who you like, hm? Everyone your age has to like someone, that's all part of youth!" Gai-sensei explains.  
>I really didn't know what to say at this point. "Um.. I.. don't really think about that.. I-I prefer to train!" I lie. Gai-sensei kneeled down to my height and looked me in the eyes. "You really don't like anyone?"<br>"Um.. no." I reply.  
>"Gai-sensei, it is not nice to pressure someone into liking someone else of which they do or do not like!" Lee scolded. "You taught me that yourself!"<br>Gai-sensei stood up in defeat. "I guess I need more convincing.. to show these two..." He stood there talking quietly to himself while scratching his chin.  
>A firework suddenly lit up in the sky. "Oh! Setsuki-san!" Lee took my hand and eagerly gazed at me. "Lets go watch the fireworks!"<br>"Yeah! Lets go!" We ran off together to find a good spot. We didn't know it, but Gai-sensei was very proud.


	53. Chapter 53

Lee took me to the nearby park where few other people lazed in the ankle-high grass. Lee and I found a nice spot away from the other people, and we sat down on the very soft grass. I sort of laid down, leaning on my elbows, and Lee sat with his legs crossed, leaning backwards on his hands.  
>After 5 or 6 fireworks there was a short pause. Lee faced me and talked softly.<br>"Setsuki-san?"  
>"Mm?" I was staring at the stars that were showing from out of the clouds due to the fireworks dispersing them.<br>"Would you like an ice cream?"  
>I immediately face him with a big smile. "Yeah!"<br>Lee shines a smile back, then jumps to his feet within a split second. "I will go get us each one, Setsuki-san! Please do not move!" With that, he bolted away. I looked back up at the sky as a single firework went off, the explosion took the shape of 愛. I blink with a blank expression, love? I tilted my head.  
>Minutes later Lee came running back, an ice cream in each hand. As he approached, he stood there, and held them both out, one was chocolate ice cream coated in chocolate, the other vanilla coated in chocolate. Of course I reached up and picked the chocolate one. I sat up and smiled, thanked him. Lee smiled, nodded back then sat beside me again.<br>We tore the wrappers off almost in sync, then placed them between us. We continued to watch the fireworks while eating away.  
>I finished mine first (of course) and so I was just gnawing on the stick.<br>Lee still had quite a few good bites out of his left, and watching him eat it was making me hungrier, after all, that dancing really tires you out and makes you hungry. Lee noticed my staring, he looked back and forth between me and his ice cream with only his eyes, then reluctantly held it out to me, offering it. I smile and take a bite, then he quickly withdrew it while poking his tongue out.  
>I gave a quiet evil snicker, before leaning on my arms behind me and looking up at the sky, watching the rest of the fireworks.<p>

It was quiet for a while, for both of us were in awe at the fireworks, then I felt Lee's hand rest on top of mine. I almost jumped, but I held it in. I felt his hand twitch, as if this wasn't intentional. But I couldn't help but smile. I kept my eyes focused on the sky, I didn't want to make eye contact, I felt kind of shy again.  
>Lee kind of made a really quiet surprised noise in this throat when he looked at me. I was curious. I ever so slowly turn my head to face him, he was staring at me, his cheeks pink. I try to not think of his hand on mine, but it was hopeless to ignore it, because his hand tensed. I stare into his eyes curiously, and he returned the expression. I think both our cheeks were pink at this stage. But despite the situation, I just smile at him innocently, his cheeks flushed more, and he shuffled a little closer. Slowly I lean to my side, then rest my head on his shoulder. He rested his head on my head. We didn't notice our fingers had entwined with each other.<br>It was really late now, and I felt sleepy, but I told myself, this time, I would stay awake, no matter what.

It was silent, I thought the fireworks had finished. I slowly pull myself to sit up, and Lee did the same, but he brought his knees to his chest and hugged them, as if he was really nervous about something.  
>I wondered what it was, but I wasn't going to get up, I was far too tired to even think about getting up.<br>"Lee.." I groan. He faced me. "I'm tired.."  
>Lee let out a somewhat loud yawn. "I am too Setsuki-chan.." He started to rub his eyes.<br>I kind of felt pleased at the way he called me chan without even thinking. He's always tried to be so formal around me, even though we're basically best friends, but I can't talk, I do the same to him. But, it's only Lee that I'm formal too, no one else.. I wonder why that is. Funny old world.  
>"Lee, can we just sleep out here?" I grumble. We were facing each other, he only chuckled at my remark.<br>"How about I carry you home Setsuki-chan." He offered with a sweet expression. I started to giggle at the word_chan_.  
>It was even funnier because he didn't realize he was saying it. "No Lee," I stop to giggle. "I can walk."<br>"But-" He let out another loud yawn. "Your house is so far.. from here.." He rubbed his eyes again. I stood up slowly, but he grabbed my ankle, and pulled it, making me fall back down onto my butt.  
>"Ow!" I rub my butt and stare at him, mentally demanding an explanation. He only laughed, very amused. He stood up, then offered his hand. I took it, but as he was about to pull me up, I pull him down, and roll over so he would land beside me. It worked. "Nyaaouch!" He groaned as he faceplanted. I went to sit up, but immediately Lee pinned me down, holding my hands above my head, sitting on my stomach playfully, he smirked at me smugly.<br>I could only spit out one word under my breath - "Dammit!"  
>Lee laughed victoriously. "I have won this, Setsuki-san!" He announced. There, I knew he was awake now. I couldn't help but laugh. Suddenly a rather loud firework exploded, making me jump.<br>"WAAAH!" I break out of Lee's grip, and snap my arms around his chest very tightly, holding him as if a child would hold a bear when frightened. He choked.  
>"S-Setsuki-san! Look!" Lee was referring to te sky. I look up, the image left behind looked like a huge Christmas tree. I was in awe. Whoever made this are definitely talented!<br>Lee sat up, but I still clung to him. "S-Setsuki-san, you can let.. go now.." Lee mentioned, feeling quite nervous. I shook my head defiantly. "It's okay, Setsuki-san. I wont let anything hurt you. It is perfectly safe!"  
>I untense a little, allowing him to actually breathe. He inhaled deeply to catch his breath. I look up at him, we made eye contact, then started to laugh.<br>"Now then, shall we get ready for bed?" He asked.  
>I nod a few times. "Yeah, then we-"<br>Lee leaned down and pecked the top of my head. I blush heavily, and go silent. He smiled down at me.  
>"Merry Christmas Setsuki-san!" He said, he stared at my speechless expression for a few seconds then laughed himself. I didn't know what to do, I kept the same red face and wide eyes. "Ahaa.. I am sorry Setsuki-san.. I just didn't think... that I was ready.. for a full.. kiss.. with you.." He said somewhat nervously. My cheeks were on fire, my stomach burned.<br>I could only attempt to stutter a 'what'. He pointed to a mistletoe above our heads. I stare at it curiously.  
>"I-i-is it.. f-floating?" I stutter, unable to talk properly.<br>"I.. think so. But you know the rule, no matter what, underneath a mistletoe, two people must-"  
>"I know! I know!" I cut him off, embarrassed about my emotions at the moment. Lee had quite bright red cheeks himself. Then as I look closer at the mistletoe I swore I saw an invisible string holding it up. I wonder how that's even possible..<br>Lee stood up and helped me to my feet. I heard snickering in the nearby bush. I nudge Lee and nod my head in that direction. We both stared intently. The voices made shhh-ing, and '_shut up we've been spotted_' noises. We face each other, and with the same idea, we go to investigate.  
>"<em>I told you this was a bad idea.<em>" A voice whispered. I stand over the bush, and behind it, Tenten, Naruto and Gai-sensei. Gai-sensei immediately hid a long fishing pole behind his back as if nothing happened.  
>"GAAH! S-SETSUKI! BUSHY BROWS! WHAT'RE YOU DOING!?" Naruto shouted.<br>"What're you doing?" I asked.  
>"WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING! DATTEBAYO!"<br>"Then.. why are you hiding in this bush?" Lee asked.  
>"WE-"<br>Tenten cut Naruto off. "We were just-"  
>Gai-sensei cut Tenten off. "ENJOYING THE SPECTACULAR FIREWORKS! DIDN'T YOU SEE THEM LEE?! SETSUKI?! WERE THEY NOT THE MOST AMAZING THING YOU'VE EVER SEEN!?"<br>Lee squealed in happiness. "YES GAI-SENSEI! THEY WERE SO VERY VERY AMAZING!" Lee started to bounce excitedly.  
>Naruto and Tenten were staring with narrowed eyes towards the pair, I couldn't help but laugh. Tenten and Naruto stood up, leaning close to me with smirks. My eye twitched.<br>"What...?"  
>"Sooo~ how were the fireworks Setsuki?" Tenten asks.<br>Naruto sneered. "Yeeaaah~ and and how was Bushy Brows?" He made a smoochy expression. My eyes widen, my cheeks started to feel warm again.  
>"W-what?"<br>"Teehee! We saw it Setsuki! He kissed you on the head! IT WAS SO CUTE!" Tenten cried. I take a step backwards.  
>"Th-that was only because of the mistletoe!" I exclaim.<br>"Wait wait she's right! But, you two didn't kiss properly! Come on.. lets go finish this proper-"  
>"NO NO NO NO!" I cry. "LEE DOESN'T LIK- I DON'T- I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH-"<br>"Hey where'd.. Lee and Gai-sensei go..?" Tenten asked, looking around at the area. It's official. They were gone. I took the biggest sigh of relief I've ever taken in my entire life.


	54. Chapter 54

Tenten took me home and Takashi sent me straight to bed, I didn't argue. I entered my room and crashed, not even making it to the bed.

I slept on the floor all night, but somehow I had managed to get tangled up in my blanket and using my brown wooly coat scrunched into a ball used as a pillow. I must do extraordinary things in my sleep..

I woke to silence. My alarm clock was apparently broken. It was still early, but man it was cold! I realized I was still in my dress from last night, one shoe on one shoe off.  
>I get up, take off the dress, and throw it aside, then change into some warm long-sleeved navy clothes, then throw my wooly coat on over.<br>"I guess early morning training will warm me up!" I sneak into the kitchen, Takashi already had his toast on his plate, with 3 bites taken out of it. He sat there half asleep with a coffee in his hand, his glasses on his head. It would be good to let him have a little rest.. "MORNING TAKASHI!" I shout, making him jump out of his skin. The coffee spilled all over him.  
>He stood up and slammed his hands on the table.<br>"DAMMIT SETSUKI! STOP DOING THAT!" He blinked, then felt around the table.  
>I held back the biggest laugh of my life. "H-head, uncle." I said. He paused for a moment, then felt around his head for his glasses then placed them back on his face properly. He then faced me with an unimpressed look. I return an innocent expression.<br>"... Where are you off to so early..? It's only 5:40.."  
>"Training!" I exclaimed.<br>"You haven't gone early morning training for a week.."  
>"I-I've been busy, and.. and having lots of late nights that make me sleep more!"<br>"Excuses.." He grumbled, pushing his glasses up.  
>"A-Anyway, it's Christmas today!"<br>"Indeed.." He approached me and gave me a brief hug. "Merry Christmas Setsuki."  
>I smile, hugging him back as he lets go. "Merry Christmas Uncle!"<br>I stole his toast and left.

I make my way to the training fields, covered in snow. The river was frozen over too. It was much too dark to see clearly. Though I only had to wait at least 30 minutes before the sun would start to rise. I stood out beside the frozen river, staring down at the ice, wondering how strong it is.  
>I then heard a handful of snow fall from one of the trees. I raise my guard. I turn, then catch a very fast and extremely kick, it was powerful enough to push me onto the ice, where I slid backwards, this foot clamped tightly in my grip. This person chuckled, then tried to take his foot back, but I didn't let go.<br>"Well done Setsuki. Next time I wont give you any warning at all!" It was Gai-sensei's voice! I smile, but playfully, I kept hold of his foot so he had to stand on one.  
>"Thank you Gai-sensei!"<br>"... You can let go now, Setsuki!" He said, flashing a grin. I shook my head. His eye twitched in astonishment. He tried to take his foot back, but failed. "Very well.." He leaned down and put his hands on the ground, preparing to swing me off like a catapult, but he suddenly fell over. "GAH IT'S COLD!" He rubbed his hands together furiously.  
>"Yes Gai-sensei." I said, grinning smugly. He looked up at me with narrow eyes. He was almost pouting.<br>"If you wont let go.. then I will punish your defiant behaviour!" He warned, trying to make a serious face. But who could take this guy seriously? I only giggled.  
>"Oh come on Gai-sensei." I said, letting go of his foot. "I was just having some fun."<br>"Fun eh?" Gai-sensei stood up and brushed some snow off him. I nod repeatedly. "Well, why don't we have fun together, Setsuki!" He points in a random direction.  
>My gaze follows that direction, I tilt my head. "What is it?"<br>"I CALL FOR A SNOWBALL FIGHT!"  
>My eyes lit up. "YAAAAY!"<br>As I jump for joy numerous times, Gai-sensei put his hands on his hips and chuckled in amusement. "At least until Lee gets here."  
>"Yaaaa- oh? Wait, he normally beats me here.. what's going on?" I asked with a questioning expression.<br>"He is running late! This is unacceptab-"  
>"GOOD MORNING GAI-SENSEI!" Lee's high pitched voice cried from the distance. I turned to that direction and saw him jogging towards us. When he spotted me, he sped up. "SETSUKI-SAAAN!" I smiled and was about to say hello, but he didn't slow down. He tackled me to the ground. I landed with an 'omph'. "I WIN AGAIN SETSUKI-SAN!"<br>"NO YOU DIDN'T!" I grab his elbows, then knee his gut, causing him to flinch, then I flip him over and sit on top of him, pinning him down. "I WIN!"  
>Lee stares blankly at me. "... Setsuki-san.."<br>"Huh? Yeah?"  
>"NO YOU DID NOT!" Lee brought his legs up and wrapped them around my waist tightly, then used his legs to pull me onto my side, making me lose balance and fall. Lee pinned me again, but his legs were still wrapped around me. Gai-sensei was watching with high amusement.<br>"It's so nice to see my two best students taking such pride in their youth." He sniffled, then blew his nose in a handkerchief.  
>I tried to be flexible and bring my legs up too, all I could reach was my ankles on his shoulders, but I felt like my muscles were stretching, and my legs flopped back down. I was defeated. I grumble. Lee made a victorious laugh. I started to shiver, the ground was freezing. Lee went to stand up, but I kept my weight on his legs beneath me, so he couldn't unwrap his legs from me. We were offically both stuck because I couldn't get up either.<br>"Setsuki-san! I cannot get up!"  
>"Well, me either Lee-san!"<br>"Bahaha how did you manage this?" Gai-sensei cackled. He saw Lee's legs, then slapped him across the face.  
>"NYOOOWWW! G-GAI-SENSEI! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"<br>"REMOVE YOURSELF FROM HER THIS INSTANT LEE!" Gai-sensei shouted. Lee whined and I had to use my legs to lift my lower body upwards so Lee could get his legs out. In doing so Lee tensed heavily. I don't know why. He hesitantly unfolded his legs and stood up, acting as if he was pretending something didn't happen. Gai-sensei held a hand out to me, but I slapped it away playfully and stood up myself.  
>"Lee. When a beautiful young lady, such as Setsuki here, is present, you must keep control of your.. manliness." Gai-sensei began to lecture. Lee have the biggest blank expression in the world.<br>"What... do you mean by that, Gai-sensei?" Lee tilted his head. Gai-sensei began to sweat, I saw drops running down his neck.  
>"U-uh.." Gai-sensei pressed his two index fingers together, trying to think of how to word his sentence. "You know what! Kakashi would be better at explaining this than me! Stay right here! ... And don't do anything <em>manly<em> while I'm gone, Lee. Understood!?"  
>Lee immediately straightened his posture and gave a salute. "NO I DO NOT, GAI-SENSEI!"<br>Gai-sensei quietly whined, then vanished. Lee and I face each other and shrugged.

Minutes later, Lee and I sat on the ice of the water, seeing who could last the longest with our bear butts touching the ice. My butt was numb, and I'm sure his was too. We sat there shivering, teeth chattering, staring each other down.  
>Gai-sensei came dragging Kakashi-sensei who was still half asleep. He stopped once he saw us. "Lee.. Setsuki... what <em>are<em> you two _doing_?"  
>"NOT NOW GAI-SENSEI! I-I'M ABOUT T-TO WIN!" Lee shouted.<br>"N-NO, I'M GONNA W-WIN!" I announced. We made eye contact again, our eyes burned with competitive flames.  
>".. To what, freeze to death?" Gai-sensei asked with narrowed eyes.<br>"What.. is the meaning of-"  
>"AHA! KAKASHI MY ETERNAL RIVAL! YOU ARE FINALLY AWAKE!"<br>Kakashi started shivering, as he was being dragged along the ground. He jumped to his feet. "G-GAI!" He hugged himself to warm up.  
>"AAAAAHH! S-SETSUKI-SAN! I DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER I CAN.."<br>"IT'S STARTING TO REALLY HURT, LEE-SAN! I DON'T THINK I CAN LAST MUCH LONGER EITHER.."  
>Kakashi went really pale in the face - he hadn't seen us yet. He started to shiver, but it wasn't from the cold.<br>"Gai.. what exactly are your students.. doing..?"  
>"Ahah, I'm glad you asked Kakashi! They're... having some sort of youthful competition! With their butts!" Kakashi tensed, then fainted. Gai-sensei blinked. "Kakashi? ... KA-KA-SHI!" Gai-sensei started shaking the copy ninja violently.<br>Both Lee and mine faces were getting redder and redder. So were our butt cheeks. We both held in a deep breath. I couldn't sit on this ice any longer. Suddenly, the unexpected. The ice cracked, all the way across the river. Gai-sensei noticed.  
>"Lee! Setsuki! Pull up your pants and get off there NOW!"<br>We didn't want to get up straight away, we wanted to watch the other one lose. Lee finally stood up and clamped his butt tightly. "OWOWOW IT HURTS GAI-SENSEI!" He announced. I chuckle inwardly then stand up, and pull my pants back up over my butt. Now our problem was this river. Lee made one awkward step, his legweights caused his leg to fall through the ice, creating more and more cracks. "AAAHH! THE WATER! IT'S FREEZING!"  
>I go to run towards Lee, but my butt was so numb I couldn't walk properly, I was kind of waddling.<br>"LEE! GET OUT BEFORE IT SWALLOWS YOU!" Gai-sensei called. Lee placed his hands reluctantly on the ice and went to pull his leg out, when suddenly, the entire thing collapsed around us. We both fell in. Suddenly I wasn't cold anymore. But I felt heavy because of the coat. Lee on the other hand looked frozen, his skin was turning blue! I tried to swim after him, there was still a current underwater, that neither of us knew was carrying us down stream. It didn't matter so much for me, because I could breathe.. but Lee on the other hand. I unbutton my coat, and slide out of it, then easily swim after Lee. Our eyes met, I held out my hand, he took it. I pull him close and he wrapped his arms around my stomach to hold on. I look up, and almost gasp from the sight. Ice. We were trapped underwater. Lee's grip tightened. He couldn't breath. I look down his cheeks were puffed out and his hand on his nose. I tried to grip the ice above us, but the current was getting stronger. The harder I tried to grip, the more painful it was. The ice was freezing! It was extremely smooth too, so it was impossible to get a grip on it. When I look down again, I could see the river was getting deeper and deeper, and darker for that matter. I look around for something that could help. Anything. My eye turned to Lee's bright legwarmer. I had an idea. I would use one of his nun-chucks to break the ice! I reach down and lift his leg up, reach down into his legwarmer and pull out his nun-chucks. However, they were a lot heavier in the water. I try the bash them against the ice, but it really wasn't doing anything. Lee suddenly became loose. I look down, I got goosebumps from the sight. His mouth hung open, his eyes were closed and his skin was very pale. His grip was lost. I grab his arm, his body was freezing. I pull him up to me and wrap one arm around him tightly. I kept bashing the nun-chuck against the ice. I can't believe I didn't grab my ninja pouch this morning. A kunai would probably work..  
>Then I saw Lee's leg strap. I sigh of relief. As I reached for it, I realized just how much water he must be swallowing. It was really dark now, I couldn't really see anything, so I had to trust my hands. I open his pocket and pull out a kunai. I grip it tightly, then with all my might, stab it into the ice, creating a gap. The ice above us cracked, I bring my leg up and finish the job my kicking a hole in the ice, just big enough to fit through.<br>I squeeze through with Lee, feeling heavy from the water, but the wind was absolutely freezing now. My whole body felt numb. When I look around I realized we had drifted all the way into the forest. The ground wasn't thick with snow because the trees around us were huge and blocked out most of the snow. I drag Lee's motionless body to a tiny patch of grass, panting heavily.  
>"L-Lee-san..." I take a few deep breaths, I began to shiver, I could feel my spine tingling. He wasn't moving, wasn't breathing. His skin was ice cold. I didn't really understand, I mean.. there wasn't anything wrong with the water... right? Unless..! I gasp, what if the water is as cold as the ice!? "LEE!" I cried. I was panicking.<br>I place my hand on his chest, it felt hard, like it was full of water. I start chest compresses. Takashi taught me many medical things over the years, but I never paid much attention.. I wish I did now.. at least I know CPR.  
>I smashed my lips against Lee's, clamping his nose with my fingers, I build up a deep breath, and give it to Lee. I saw his chest rise from the corner of my eye, I lift my head, inhale deeply again. It was hard because the wind was so cold. I smash our lips together again, and repeat.<br>I started to feel numb and extremely distressed when it wasn't working. Perhaps it was because he was too cold.. I look around for a hollow tree... something.. anything! Tears rolled down my cheeks, but I was too numb to feel them.


	55. Chapter 55

I found a hollow tree big enough to fit at most 4 or 5 people inside. I lay Lee down, gasping for air. I was shaking uncontrollably, and I couldn't feel my body at all. I was numb all over, it was pins and needles every time I moved. My breathing was coarse and uneven, I was even struggling to breath. But at least, inside this tree, the freezing, pelting wind couldn't touch us.

I rub my hands together frantically, it stung badly, but I managed to get some feeling back into my hands. I start chest compressing Lee again. When I gave him a breath, it was big and desperate. I was at the point were it felt like I was going to pass out. The sheer cold was too much to handle.  
>It felt like an eternity, but Lee <em>finally<em> twitched. Movement. It was such a relief, he wasn't gone...  
>He coughed, then spewed up water beside him. He then whined, curling up slowly and weakly.<br>I tried to speak, my voice was shaking just as much as my body and was only as loud as a whisper. "L-Lee.."  
>He half opened his eyes, but closed them again, I thought I was shaking badly, but Lee was shaking so badly it was painful to look at.<br>He opened his mouth, his voice was a painful murmur, shaking worse than mine. "S-S-Setsuki... I-I'm.. s-s-so c-cold.."  
>I almost whined as a reaction, his struggle pained me. I lift him up slowly, trying not to hurt him. I rest his head under my chin, wrap both arms around his back, and bury my face in his hair, as if searching for any sort of warmth. I began to rub his back, trying to offer warmth, however the wet clothing didn't allow that at all. It prevented the friction to provide any sort of warmth. Lee's violent shaking scared me. I wanted to get help, but I just didn't have the strength to move, and I didn't want to leave Lee at all. I couldn't, not at least I knew he was okay. Lee's hands clung desperately to my shirt.<p>

After a few minutes, realizing this embrace was doing nothing for either of us, our wet clothes just absorbed any body heat and destroyed it. I had decided it'd be better if our skin touched instead of our wet clothes, at least then warmth would reach us both. Uncle Takashi always said if you need to warm up, it's best to share body heat with another, because it's more effective - that's why penguins always huddle together.  
>I let go of Lee, he whimpered. I kept my face buried in his hair the whole time. I pull a kunai from his pouch, slice down my shirt, then take off the clothing, leaving me with just my damp bra, then I carefully run the blade down his back, tearing the fabric open. I begin to rip the upper half of his suit off. I then bring one hand to hug his head, the other rubbing his back, and I made sure our skin was touching.<br>It took a while, but our bodies finally started to give us a bit of warmth. My shivering calmed slightly, but Lee was still violently shaking. He clung to my skin, his arms between us, gripping at my skin. It hurt, but I couldn't let the pain get to me. I just continued to hold him close.

I almost fell asleep, which could've been a bad thing. I think an hour passed, I felt somewhat warm, though I still had quite a chill. My shivering was minimal, my face was still buried in his hair. His face was buried just under my neck. His breath was now warm.  
>I felt drowsy though, it was hard to stay awake. I couldn't let myself fall asleep, who knows if or when I would wake up.. despite that, I couldn't open my eyes, they felt like they were painful to open.<br>Lee was in and out of consciousness, from time to time he would whimper or mutter under his breath that he was cold.  
>That's when I started to hear distant voices. Shouting our names. They weren't exactly clear, I couldn't identify them. There were shouts of '<em>Over here!<em>' and '_Are they okay?!_', they sounded kind of faded still, perhaps I was slipping out of consciousness..  
>I could feel something touch my shoulder then a voice say '<em>They're freezing! They could be dying!<em>'. That's all I remember before passing out.

I finally woke up, feeling warm and cozy. I roll onto my side, and snuggle comfortably into the soft thing under my head. It was incredibly soft.  
>I slowly open my eyes and flinch at the brightness. "Ow.. my eyes... I'm blind.." I groan to myself.<br>"SETSUKI-SAN! YOU'RE AWAKE!"  
>My eyes snap open as a pair of strong arms embrace me. I cough and squirm. "GWAAH!" The arms tightened. A face rubbed against mine lovingly.<br>"I AM SO HAPPY YOU ARE AWAKE!"  
>I saw green. "L-Lee-san?" I guessed.<br>Lee leaned back, showing me his teary, happy face. My eyes shift around the room, until I recognised the furnishings of a hospital. I think I died a little inside. I turn my attention back to Lee. His smile widened. "What happened?" My memory was a blur.  
>Lee sat on the end of the bed with his legs crossed, facing me, and he proceeded to explain how Gai-sensei, Uncle Takashi, Kakashi-sensei and Kiba found us, and Takashi transformed into a doctor and told the others what to do with us to warm us up properly, which involved lots of dogs huddling and fire - courtesy of Kakashi-sensei, then as we were warm enough they brought us to the hospital to patch up any wounds.<br>He made it sound like some sort of fairytale.  
>"And and most of all, you saved me Setsuki-san!" Lee leaned forward on his arms excitedly. "You saved my life!" He bowed his head, until it was touching the bed. "I am forever in your debt, Setsuki-san!"<br>I felt so relieved. I was able to save him. It also didn't surprise me that he had a new suit, after all.. Gai-sensei _does_ have an "endless" supply of them.  
>He poked his head up to glimpse at me. "By the way, who won our challenge before all that?"<br>"I did." I reply, bluntly. Lee's eye twitched with irritation.  
>"Then.. I will try harder next time! I will definitely win next time!" He sat up, a fist raised and fire in his eyes with a challenging expression.<br>"Pah, no way. I'll win!" I return the same expression. Sparks flew between our eyes.

Turns out I was only unconscious for about 3 hours, and it was only lunch time! Boy was I starving. Lee and I decided to have ramen. Escaping the hospital was a breeze, we ran to my house so I could dress in my normal ninja attire, then we went to Ichirakus and had a nice fill of food.. and another eating competition. We called it a draw at 23 each.  
>We were officially full. Once we stepped outside again, we notice lots of kids exchanging presents. It was still Christmas Day after all. I had forgotten to do any Christmas shopping! I was so busy helping Lee find this girl, that in fact, I didn't do any of my own preparations.<br>I turn to Lee. "Lee-san."  
>"Yes, Setsuki-san?"<br>"I uh.. there's gonna be a little delay on your present, see I didn't get anyone anythi-"  
>"Nope!" Lee shused me by putting his finger on my lips. "You have already given me my present..."<br>I blink, then pull his arm down. "I.. have?"  
>Lee nodded eagerly, then stared into my eyes, leaning closely. "You.. saved my life. Setsuki-san. That is the best thing I could ever ask for." He took my hand, then unexpectedly, he pecked my hand, then smiled up at me. "I am still in your debt, perhaps I could do something for you, as your gift, Setsuki-san?"<br>My cheeks burned up, I stuttered. "Uh.. well, um.." I couldn't think straight.  
>He gave a soft, nervous chuckle.<p> 


	56. Chapter 56

I had no idea what I wanted, so Lee took me around the village, eager to find something for me. But nearly every shop was closed. Every time I said '_Don't worry about it._' Lee would instantly reply '_NO SETSUKI-SAN! I MUST REPAY YOU! I WILL TRY HARDER THIS TIME!'.  
><em>We became a little restless, we ended up giving each other shoulder rides around the village, while running as fast as we could. It was super fun! Lee was heavy because of his leg weights, but he refused to take them off. I was just worried I'd slip on the snow, it was my turn, Lee sat on my shoulders, his arm pointed straight ahead.  
>"FASTER, SETSUKI-SAN!"<br>"I'M GOING AS FAST AS I CAN LEE-SAN!"  
>I was already going top speed, each step felt like a risk, the snow was slippery. I wasn't allowed to use chakra, Lee said it was cheating. Though, I was having the time of my life. But it was more fun when Lee was running, he was so fast it made my head spin, by the time he'd finish running I felt like I was gonna be sick. But it was still fun, kind of like a rollercoaster with no restraints.<p>

We did that all afternoon, until we had become completely worn out. I sat on Lee's shoulders, slouching over, my arms folded on his head, my chin resting on my arms.  
>"Where would you like to go, Setsuki-san?" Lee asked, his walking pace slowed.<br>"Somewhere relaxing.." I felt like I was gonna fall asleep. Lee smiled to himself.  
>"I think I know the right place! Hang on Setsuki-san!"<br>"Wha-" Lee started to run, I nearly fell off. "WAAH! LEE!"  
>"GAI-SENSEI'S MEDITATION IS VERY RELAXING!" He exclaimed. Right when I thought he was out of energy too..<br>"Gai-sensei meditates?"  
>"YES! IT IS VERY RELAXING!"<br>I laugh. "Alright alright, I take your word."

Lee took me to Gai-sensei's apartment, but he wasn't home. I removed myself from his shoulders and stood beside him. "Well, why don't_you_do this meditating thing instead?"  
>Lee almost gasped in horror. "M-ME?!"<br>"YES! ... Or, can't you do it?"  
>Lee held back a very big pout, and he lowered his head, pressing his index fingers togethe, mumbling something really quickly that sounded like "<em>Itisnotmymostskillful...talent..<em>"  
>I smirk, somewhat amused. "You can't, can you?"<br>Lee looked up immediately, a taunted expression. "I-I could if I tried!"  
>"Do it then." I held back a laugh. Lee sat with his legs and arms crossed.<br>"SETSUKI-CHWAAAAAAN~"  
>"Huh?" We both look onto the street. Daisuke. I wave to him.<br>"Daisuke-kun!"  
>Daisuke came running as fast as he could, his arms spread wide open. He tackled me to the ground in a tight hug. Lee shot Daisuke a quick glare that went unnoticed.<br>"SETSUKI I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! I COULDN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT YOU WHEN I WAS AWAY! I EVEN TOLD MUM I HAD TO COME HOME EARLY JUST TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" He began rubbing his cheek against mine lovingly.  
>I replied with a single word. "Why?"<br>Daisuke paused, he looked down at me with a big pout. "B-Because, I love y-"  
>"Setsuki-san!" Lee spoke up. I look at him. "It is almost dusk! Already!" I sat up, and looked at the sky. He was right. I should be headed home soon.<br>"Ohh~ Setsuki-chwaan~ Lets go watch the sunset together!" Daisuke chimed.  
>"Good idea!" I stood up, so did Daisuke. "Come on, Lee-san!"<br>Daisuke sputtered. "Why him too?!"  
>"You said together right?" I smile at them. "Come on!" I grab Lee's wrist and beckon Daisuke with the other. Daisuke frowned, but followed.<p>

The three of us sat on the roof of my house, watching the sun sink below the mountains in the distance. Daisuke extended out his arm and held my hand. "Isn't the sight just simply beautiful?" He said.  
>I nod in response, staring at his hand on mine. Lee noticed. Lee put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in towards him, so I happily rest my head on his shoulder. Daisuke tensed somewhat angrily for some reason.<br>"Shall we go inside now, Setsuki-san?" Lee inquired.  
>"Yeah~" I yawn. Daisuke stood up, his arms spread.<br>"Setsuki, let me carry you inside."  
>"Oh, okay." I stood up. Lee folded his arms. Daisuke bent down to pick me up, when suddenly Lee swept me off my feet and jumped down off the roof. My eyes widen from the sudden movement. Lee put me down on my feet with a proud grin. I smile at him then open the door.<br>"Well, goodnight Lee-san. GOODNIGHT DAISUKE-KUN!" I shout to Daisuke still on the roof.  
>"GOODNIGHT SETSUKI-CHWAAN!" He called back, then slid off the roof, but slipped on the snow and landed face first on the ground, the snow piled up on top of him. It reminded me of myself the other day. I kick the snow off and he stands up and glares at Lee who was holding back a huge laugh.<br>I wave to them both then go inside, and straight to bed.

A few weeks later, we had news that Sakura-chan was coming back to the village, Lee was getting excited to see her again.  
>Lee and I had arranged many plans in order to get her attention.<p>

**Plan A:  
><strong>I follow Lee until we find Sakura, then disappear. Lee smiles and holds a flower to her. "Sakura-chan!"  
>"Oh.. hi Lee."<br>"Sakura-chan, please be my girlfriend!"  
>"... Lee, I.. don't.." Sakura sighed. "Lee I appreciate the thought but.. you're just.. not the right man for me..."<br>Lee pouted.  
><strong>Outcome = Failure<strong>

**Plan B: (Next day)  
><strong>"SAKURA-SAAAAN!"  
>"Oh, hi Lee.."<br>"Sakura-san! Please go out to dinner with me tonight!"  
>"Dinner? Tonight?"<br>"Yes, Sakura-chan! I will treat you to dinner, please come with me!"  
>"U-um.. I would.. like to Lee, but I have plans tonight.."<br>"O-oh.. then how about tomorrow night?"  
>"Sorry Lee.. I just.. I'm caught up in a lot of plans lately.."<br>Lee lowers his head in defeat.  
><strong>Outcome = Failure.<strong>

The next day Lee approached me.  
>"Setsuki-saaan." Lee whined. "Both our plans failed! Sakura-chan won't go out with me." He sighed and slumped his shoulders.<br>"What!? But our plans were so well thought out! Even I would've fallen for the dinner!" I exclaim. Lee taps his chin. "You_did_give her the flowers right?"  
>Lee nodded.<br>"Impossible! Sakura-chan is a tough nut to crack.." I trail off in thought. "Oh I know! I'll try it and see how she reacts!"  
>"U-um.. how exactly would that help, Setsuki-san?"<br>"DON'T QUESTION ME!" I shout, making him jump. He raised his hands innocently.  
>"O-okay okay! I believe in you Setsuki-san!"<p>

I head off to find Sakura, then I think of something to say to her.  
>I stood in the middle of the street, deep in thought.<br>Once I figured out what I'd say, I approach Sakura.  
>"SAKURA-CHAN!" I shout. She turns to me and tilts her head.<br>"Oh hi Setsuki, long time no see..."  
>"Sakura-chan! Please come out to dinner with me tonight!" I plead, then pull a random bouquet of flowers from no where, and offer them to her. I grin at her.<br>Sakura blinks. "Um... sorry Setsuki... I don't.. swing that way.." She says.  
>"Swing what way huh?"<br>"I'm straight Setsuki.."  
>"N-no Sakura-chan! I am not asking you out at all! That is definitely not what I'm doing! I am.. offering to take you to dinner, with a blind date! YES! A BLIND DATE! WHADDAYA SAY!?"<br>"Blind date?"  
>"Yes!"<br>"With.. who?"  
>"A... a... A really really handsome, black haired, really really sexy guy!" I explain.<br>"Oh? How do you know someone like that? What's his name?"  
>"L- IT'S A SECRET!" I shout. "Besides, he's a real gentleman~" I chime, then give a wink. Sakura seemed to be buying it.<br>"If it's someone like Sasuke-kun~" He said in a dreamy tone.  
>"Uh.. w-well.. he's definitely hotter than Sasuke!"<br>"Now that I'd like to see!"  
>I grin. It worked. My plan worked. I run off to find Lee.<p>

"LEE! SAKURA-CHAN'S GOING TO DINNER WITH YOU TONIGHT!"  
>"WHAT?! REALLY?! HOW DID YOU DO IT SETSUKI-SAN!?"<br>"I'M JUST A GENIUS, OKAY!?"  
>"OHHHH SETSUKI-SAN!" Lee hugged me tightly, rubbing his cheek against mine as joyful tears ran down his cheeks. "THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU REALLY ARE GREAT SETSUKI-SAN!"<br>I smile big and hug back. "You'd best go get ready!" Lee stood up straight and wiped his eyes, then bowed quickly, then vanished. I felt good. One good deed done for the day! I couldn't wait to see how this would turn out!


	57. Chapter 57

The next morning, I decided to sit down with Takashi for breakfast for once. We discussed things about Kabuto, and what he must be doing right now. The topic made Takashi very sensitive, but I felt just as tense.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I jump up to answer it. It was Lee.  
>Lee smiled at me, while scratching the back of his head. "Good morning Setsuki-san!"<br>"Oh, Lee-san! Good morning! How are you- OH! HOW DID LAST NIGHT GO?!"  
>"IT WAS GREAT SETSUKI-SAN! SAKURA-CHAN ACTUALLY TURNED UP AND WE HAD A NICE DINNER! SHE WAS GOING TO LEAVE, BUT I CONVINCED HER TO STAY! THE FOOD WAS DELICIOUS AND THE WHOLE NIGHT WAS PERFECT! I WALKED HER HOME AND-"<br>I felt so happy, like we had just completed a huge mission. I gave him a victorious hug.  
>"LEE-SAN THAT'S GREAT!"<br>"I couldn't have done it without you, Setsuki-san!" Lee hugged back just as tightly.  
>Takashi walked out from the kitchen and stood behind me. "Well, what's all the shouting about?"<br>I let go of Lee, and smile at Takashi. "We finally did it!"  
>Takashi's smile dropped. "Did what...?"<br>"We finally got Sakura-chan to go on a date with Lee-san!" I exclaim.  
>"Oh..!" Takashi's smile returned, but then he tilted his head. "But weren't you two..?"<br>"Huh?"  
>"Nothing. That's.. good news, I'm guessing?"<br>Lee and I nod eagerly.  
>"I am so happy, I couldn't sleep last night! My heart was racing all night, just thinking about Sakura-chan!" Lee exclaimed.<br>I giggle and face Lee again, and look into his eyes proudly. Lee returned the expression.  
>"Lee-san! Lets go get some ramen to celebrate!" I suggest.<br>Lee grinned eagerly.  
>"For breakfast?" Takashi butts in.<br>"But uncle! I've had breakfast! This is like.. that meal between breakfast and lunch!" I exclaim.  
>"... There's no such thing at this hour-"<br>"Sure there is!" I laugh loudly to drain out the sound of his voice. "Lee-san, wait there, I'll go get dressed!" Lee nodded and I zoomed off and did just that.

"What?! Ichirakus isn't open yet?!" I complain.  
>"Well that is indeed disappointing! Do not worry Setsuki-san! I have an alternative!"<br>"You do, Lee-san?"  
>"YOSH! ROCK LEE'S HOMEMADE, MYSTICAL FLAMING YOUTH RAMEN!" Lee put his hands on his hips as he announced the name.<br>"Oh...? What does it taste like?"  
>"You will find out, Setsuki-san!"<p>

It was horrible. Lee cannot cook, not even to save his life. I felt sick for the rest of the day. Lee followed me around everywhere constantly reminding me that he was very sorry.

That afternoon, Takashi gave me a special medicine ball, which tasted absolutely disgusting, but I felt great afterwards! As myself, Lee and Takashi were sitting in the living room discussing the difference between the shampoos that we use and how they're better than each others, there was a knock at the door.  
>"I'll get it!" I announce, arising to my feet. I open the door. Susumu and Daisuke, they both looked kinda serious until Daisuke saw me, his cheeks turned pink. "Oh hi guys!"<br>"Setsuki, we need to talk." Susumu said, maintaining his serious composure.  
>"Oh? What's wrong?"<br>Susumu guestured into the house. We moved ourselves to my room and shut the door. Lee decided he'd sneak in too, as much as Daisuke was against it for some reason.  
>Susumu sat on my bed, so the rest of us sat on the floor, in a semi-circle facing Susumu.<br>I ask Susumu what this was about, he took a deep breath and made eye contact with me as he started to explain. "It's about Komaru-sensei.."  
>"Wh-what about Komaru-sensei?"<br>"He hasn't come back from his mission yet.. it's been almost six months now.. that's almost half a year. Surely no mission can last that long.."  
>"Y-you don't suppose he's..?" Daisuke spoke up, but his voice trailed off at the end. Susumu closed his eyes and reluctantly shook his head.<br>"We'll have to speak to Lady Tsunade.. if anyone knows anything, it's bound to be her."  
>"Then lets go!" I shout while standing up. Lee stood up too.<br>"I will come with you!" He said. Daisuke rolled his eyes at Lee, then we all headed to Tsunade's office after trying to explain to Takashi where we were headed at this hour.

As we explained our situation to Tsunade, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and exhaled deeply through her nose.  
>"Look.. I have had no word from Komaru since he left for his mission five months ago."<br>"Six." Susumu quickly corrected her. Tsunade shot him a dirty look which caused Susumu to keep his mouth shut. For now at least.  
>"What exactly was his mission?" Daisuke spoke up.<br>"I cannnot tell you. The mission was top secret. I know you are his students and probably wouldn't tell anyone.. but I can't go blathering out details. So make do with it."  
>"... Not even a tiny little hint?" Daisuke pesters. Tsunade glared at him. "Is he chasing a bad guy or something? Or.. or trying to get information? Something like that?"<br>Tsunade turned her attention to a small scratch on her desk and started stroking it with her index finger. "You could say it was both those things combined." She rested her cheek on her other hand, she then turned her eyes back to us.  
>"Who is he chasing?! Is it someone dangerous!?"<br>"Enough!" Tsunade smacked the desk over the scratch, creating a loud noise. "I already told you I can't give any details! Stop pestering me!"  
>Daisuke didn't seem intimidated at all. He stepped forward and slammed his hands on her desk, staring her right in the eyes.<br>"What if Komaru-sensei was killed?! You're acting like we shouldn't give a fuck!"  
>I flinch at his words, I didn't notice I had taken a step backwards. Lee stepped forward.<br>"Daisuke-kun! Please do not say such things!" Lee scolded, holding a clenched fist out towards Daisuke, who completely ignored him.  
>Tsunade looked at Daisuke for quite some time, as if contemplating. She finally spoke. "If I know Komaru, he wouldn't have let himself be killed."<br>Daisuke's eye twitched with anger. Suddenly Shizune came running into the room with something in her hand.  
>"M'Lady! M'Lady!" She ran past us and handed her a blood stained scroll.<br>"What's this..?" Tsunade sat up straight and stared at it.  
>"A strange brown crocodile appeared in the message room, causing a ruckus to the hawks! After we managed to calm it down it said to give this straight to you, and to you only."<br>"Brown crocodile?" Susumu inquired. Shizune looked at us and nodded.  
>"Could it be.. Yuudai?!" Daisuke questioned.<br>"Yuudai?" Shizune asked.  
>Daisuke turned to Shizune. "Komaru-sensei's Kuchiyose. A brown crocodile, named Yuudai! We've only seen it once before, when he tried to teach us that jutsu.."<br>"I see.." Shizune turned to Tsunade. "What's it say m'Lady?"  
>"Let me open it first Shizune!" Tsunade grumbled, then opened it across the desk, she started to read it aloud without realizing she was doing it. "Tsunade, I have reports on my current situation. I was barely able to get this message out, without being caught. The reason I haven't been in contact is because I accidentally got myself captured by that hineous snake, Orochimaru. I'm still imprisoned, please do not send reinforcements, he has set countless traps expecting more to come. I will find a way out of here myself, somehow. If you do not hear from me again, I am probably dead. -Uchida Komaru, ps, do not tell my students about this-" Tsunade paused, realizing she was just reading it aloud. The three of us were shocked.<br>"WHADDAYA MEAN CAPTURED BY OROCHIMARU!?" Daisuke roared. I look out the window, at the sun just touching the top of the mountain, getting ready to set. My eyes were wide in shock and worry.  
>"W-We gotta go save him!" I finally speak. Susumu looks at me unsurely, but Daisuke looked keen.<br>"Right!" he concured.  
>"No. You three are not to leave the village." Tsunade said. Daisuke turns to argue, Tsunade glares. "At all. Understood?"<br>"But we know where he is! We can-"  
>Tsunade cut Daisuke off. "UNDERSTOOD!? If you keep this up I will have you under close supervision!"<br>Daisuke tensed, then turned to us.  
>"I'M NOT ABOUT TO SIT AROUND WHILE MY SENSEI IS IN DANGER OF BEING KILLED WHEN I CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!"<br>Tsunade stood up, punching a small hole in her desk. "IF YOU DARE GO ANYWHERE NEAR THAT MAN YOU WILL END UP DEAD YOURSELF, DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?! OROCHIMARU IS SICK, CRUEL AND TWISTED! NOT TO MENTION POWERFUL! YOU'D ALL BE DEAD WITHIN TWO SECONDS! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"  
>Daisuke began shaking with anger. "FOR THE SAKE OF MY MASTER, I'LL MAKE IT THREE SECONDS!" With that, Daisuke vanished.<br>Tsunade grimaced and turned to Shizune. "Shizune! Get someone to keep a close eye on that boy.. as for you three. Go home."  
>We had no choice but to leave. I was a little confused, I've never seen Daisuke act quite like that before..<p>

As we were walking home, our conversation was quiet. We all had so much on our minds.  
>"The only other time I've seen him like that was when someone mentioned something about his father.." Susumu mentioned.<br>"His father?" I ask, Lee looked at Susumu with the same curious face as I did.  
>"He never really talks about him.. but.. I heard that when he was small, him and his father went out exploring.. they fell into a trap laid down by Kirigakure ninjas, and his father was-"<br>"Beaten to death by those bastards." We all gasp at the sight of Daisuke standing in front of us with his arms folded. His expression showed anger. "I watched him die with my own eyes..." I notice tears trapped in his eyes, trying to fall. "I was 6! Yet I remember the day so perfectly... like it was yesterday.. I c-couldn't.." He broke out into tears, I step to him and wrap my arms around him as tightly as I could he cried into my shoulder. We all felt the same pity towards him.  
>"I.. lost my parents about that age too.." I said, in a very soft tone. Daisuke tensed a little, the others look at me with surprise. I'd never told anyone about my past.<br>"You did..?" Susumu asked quietly. I look up to the stars now coming out, then nod.  
>"My.. village was.. destroyed.. only Takashi and me survived.. out of everyone... mum, dad.. big sis.. aunty.. Kab-" I shut my mouth. The only one who knows about Kabuto and I is Naruto. I don't want to be taunted by everyone for being related to someone so.. evil. I kept it a secret, a secret between me and Takashi.<br>"S-Setsuki-san.. I had no idea.." Lee spoke with shock in his voice. I shake my head.  
>"It was years ago, can't do anything about it but get stronger to protect Takashi, and my friends- you guys." I said, not wanting to draw attention to myself. Daisuke lifted his head and looked at me.<br>"I couldn't imagine the pain you would've went through.. losing just dad was horrible, but everyone in my family..? I don't think I could.."  
>I silence Daisuke by putting a finger on his lips. "It's fine.. I'm fine. We have bigger things to worry about." I said, trying to change the subject because I could feel a wave of emotion building up inside of me that would only get worse if I thought about my family.<br>"Right.. Komaru-sensei. We have to save him, no matter what Tsunade says." Daisuke said.  
>"What if she finds out?" Susumu asks.<br>"Who cares? Unlike her I'm not going to sit around and wait for the news that he was killed! We just need to find his hideout and save Komaru-sensei! If we're careful enough we might not even encounter Orochimaru."  
>"He has a point.." I said.<br>"Then.. please allow me to come with you." Lee said.  
>"Lee-san..."<p>

We each went home to pack our things, I laid down in bed, and pretended I was asleep when Takashi came to check on me. After he went to bed I left a note on my bedside table saying I was called out to an urgent mission and jumped out the window, meeting the others at the gate.  
>Kotetsu and Izumo looked sleepy, even the ninja hound was fast asleep.<br>"We have to be extremely stealthy." Lee whispered. We all nodded, and snuck past the guards and ran off into the forest unnoticed.

Escaping the village = success. Next mission, to find Orochimaru's hideout.


	58. Chapter 58

It felt like days before we even came close to even getting any clues to the whereabouts of Orochimaru's hideout.

But we finally did it, with the help of Keahebi, who, for some reason, seemed reluctant to lead us there.  
>We finally found a cement staircase leading underground, and judging by the snake statues, with gold glowing eyes, this had to be his hideout.<br>"Do you guys think this is it?" Daisuke muttered.  
>"Only one way to find out." I replied.<br>"Setsuki-san, Susumu-kun, Daisuke-kun, do you really think this is safe?" Lee asked. We all shook our heads, knowing the consequence of coming here, which is death. We were well aware that if we got caught, there'd be no escaping.  
>Lee seemed a little uneasy though, I think we all were, but we had to continue on inside if we wanted to get Komaru-sensei back. Daisuke stepped up and made the first move. He started to make his way down the staircase, where you couldn't see inside because it was pitch black. Susumu and I followed, Lee followed behind us. Keahebi suddenly disappeared.<br>We all spoke in hushed voices. "It's so dark, I can't see a thing.." Daisuke muttered.  
>"If Keahebi hadn't of vanished.. he could've lead the way.." I mentioned.<br>"True.." Daisuke replied.  
>"I think I see a torch up ahead." Lee said. We all saw a tiny flicking fire mounted on the wall. As we approached it, it became to get lighter, but still fairly dim, the torches were spaced roughly 10 metres apart, making just enough light to see where we were going. We stayed close against the wall in a single line formation, leading was Daisuke, Susumu, Me and Lee at the back.<br>"Be careful of traps. This place has to be crawling with them." Susumu said. We all raised our guard after that remark.  
>"Where... do you think they're keeping Komaru-sensei?" I asked.<br>"Why don't we split up and search? It should make it quicker.." Susumu mentioned.  
>"Yeah.. but then again it would make us more vulnerable.. I mean, if we just so happened to run into Orochimaru... we'd be goners." Daisuke responded.<br>"What if we go in pairs..?" I suggested. They looked at me momentarily in thought. Both Lee and Daisuke stared sparks into each others eyes for some reason.  
>"If we do, then I will be with Setsuki-san." Lee said.<br>Daisuke flinched. "No, I wanna be with Suki-chan!"  
>"It is too late, Daisuke-kun, I have already stated it! I will protect Setsuki-san with my life!"<br>"Can you two shut up? You're getting louder.. jeez." Susumu grumbled. Daisuke looked at me questioningly.  
>"Why don't we see who she wantsto go with? Setsuki, do you wanna go with me, or that weirdo?" Daisuke asked. I was tempted to say Susumu, just to stir up the situation, but then I began to think, Daisuke-kun and Lee-san don't really seem to like each other for some reason, so if they got into trouble... I look up from my thoughts and take a step backwards, bumping into Lee purposely.<br>"I'll go with Lee-san." I said. Daisuke's jaw dropped.  
>"Actually, I guess that's a smart tactic." Susumu mentioned. "If you and I go together, Daisuke, we know each other better than I do with Lee. Therefore I can determine your skills Daisuke. Same goes for Lee and Setsuki, the two of them seem to be rather close too. Therefore they know each other's abilities quite well. It all works out. And besides, if you went with Lee the two of you would only fight."<br>Daisuke folded his arms, pouting. "Fine." He huffed. The path went two ways, left and right.  
>"Setsuki, Lee, you two go left, we'll go right." Susumu instructed. We nodded and went our separate ways.<p>

I could feel every strand of hair on my body standing up-right from fear, my heart was racing too. Lee noticed. He put a hand on my shoulder, and when I looked at him he gave me a reassuring smile. I felt a little safer with him there, so I walked close beside him, and his arm wrapped around my shoulders, making me feel safer.  
>"Are you alright, Setsuki-san?" Lee asked in a hushed voice. I gave a hesitant nod.<br>"Yeah... I'm okay."

We walked for what seemed like forever, down this one straight corridor. No interruptions. We were beginning to feel uneasy, what if these evil guys were planning an ambush?  
>"It's getting a little darker.." I mention. Lee nodded in concur, his arm still resting across my shoulders.<br>"Please do not worry, Setsuki-san. I will protect you with my life." He said. I glimpse at him, his face full of determination. He was serious. To be honest that made me feel a little happy, happier than it should've. "No opponent is too strong for my burning flames of youth!" I cracked a smile.  
>We walked a little longer until we heard a voice, or rather two voices. One saying 'I'll take care of the rodents.' Both Lee and I heard it. We couldn't see anyone, but it was clear that we've been found out. Lee suddenly stepped in front of me protectively, and in a fighting stance, ready to take on anything. It was really inspiring.<br>But I didn't have time to gawk at Lee, we were in a serious situation. Footsteps echoed down the corridor, getting louder and louder, until they stopped.  
>"Well well, what have we here?"<br>I knew that voice. I would know it anywhere. My heart almost skipped a beat. I step out from behind Lee, my eyes saw what matched my mind. "K-Kabuto!" I stuttered.  
>Light reflected from his glasses, making his eyes unseeable. "My my, how unfortunate that you must find yourself here.. I'm afraid all rodents must be taken care of. No hard feelings." Kabuto sneered. "But don't worry, I'll make it quick." He raised his hand, it started to glow blue.<br>"Stay back Setsuki-san!" Lee said, stepping forward. Kabuto took a step back, readying a running start at Lee. Lee countered this by kicking off the ground with such a powerful force that the ground cracked beneath where he was standing. "Leaf Hurricane!"  
>Lee's attack was extremely fast, but somehow Kabuto managed to evade it, he struck Lee across the back with his glowing hand. Lee cried out and cringed in pain, he tumbled to the ground. It made me flinch.<br>"The more you move around and avoid me, the more painful your death will be. Lets see if this next rodent will make a wiser choice." Kabuto sneered again. His tone was getting on my nerves, the back of my neck felt itchy again for some reason.  
>"Kabuto! It's me!" Iexclaim. He merely adjusted his glasses. "It's me, Setsuki! Kabuto, please!" I couldn't believe I was pleading.<br>"Don't think I don't know who you are. Setsuki." He scoffed my name. It caused me to clench a fist. Why was he like this? Or was this all an act because maybe Orochimaru was watching? I quickly scan around the area just in case. "Don't look away from me, that's just rude." Kabuto started running at me with his glowing hand. I glimpse at Lee who was finding his feet, but his back had a nice gash with blood dripping all over the place. It looked painful, but he was treating it like it was nothing.  
>I turn back to Kabuto who was inches away. I close my eyes. Water Substitution Jutsu. His hand sliced right through my stomach, cutting all the way through like a bread slice. Water gushed out when the attack hit, and my body collapsed to a mere puddle of water. It was up to Lee to buy some time, until my body regenerated.<br>"Mmph. Substitution? How annoying." Kabuto grumbled, adjusting his glasses again. When he raised his head, he almost flinched at Lee's fist about to smack his face, he leaned back just in the nick of time. Lee kept swinging punches, one after the after, leaving no sign of slowing down. Kabuto kept dodging, sliding backwards each time, until he hit the wall. His expression showed somewhat uncomfortableness about his situation. Lee built up power in one arm, and threw a heavy punch, aimed right at Kabuto's face. Kabuto was barely able to dodge such speed, by ducking. It took a split second for Kabuto to pierce Lee's stomach while he still had his fist stuck in the wall. Lee, again, fell, cringing tightly this time. He was in so much pain, I couldn't stand watching. I focused a lot more chakra than I should've to make my body regenerate faster.  
>"I can't believe you left me an opening.." Kabuto sneered towards Lee, adjusting his glasses again.<br>"Lee! Are you alright!?" I question.  
>"I-I.. will be.. f-fine.. Setsuki-san.." Lee whimpered. I face Kabuto, he faced me. We made eye contact briefly, before he lunged at me again, with his glowing hand. Kabuto almost hit me, I managed to jump out of the way just in time, but he followed me straight away, it was a hopping game for a moment. I had to protect Lee, no matter what. It also seemed like Kabuto wasn't going to be nice this time, so I'd have to try and knock him unconscious somehow. Lee was on his feet again. I couldn't believe him.<br>Kabuto stopped, he stood there for a moment, watching us for some reason. Was he planning something? I turn to Lee, his green had turned to red from the blood.  
>"L-Lee.."<br>"I will be fine, Setsuki-san." Lee faced Kabuto again, his expression focused.  
>"Well isn't this annoying.." Kabuto grumbled, still standing there. We face Kabuto, ready for his next move. "I should've expected this.."<br>That's when I noticed his shadow, it had a very long line extended down the corridor. I heard a snicker, then;  
>"SETSUKI-CHWAAAN!" My eyes widen as the blondie appeared out of nowhere and tackled me to the ground.<br>"GAH!"  
>"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! YOU'RE NOT HURT ARE YOU?!"<br>"I-I'm fine Daisuke.." I sweatdrop. "Hey, get off!" I push Daisuke off and rush over to Lee who was crouching. Daisuke frowned, but his eyes widened at the sight of Lee.  
>"What happened to you?!" Daisuke questioned. I knelt beside Lee then frowned at Kabuto. Susumu walked out of the shadows, maintaining his hold on Kabuto.<br>"I-I am fine."  
>"Pfft, mate you're anything but fine. Look at you!" Daisuke retorted. Kabuto looked at Susumu, then smirked. Susumu gave a serious expression. A black shadow crawled up Kabuto's leg, coiling around it then around his waist and up his stomach to his neck, it then coiled around his neck tightly. Kabuto clenched his teeth, his smirk disappeared and he began to sweat slightly.<br>"Wipe that smirk off your face." Susumu growled. I turn my attention back to Lee. Daisuke was grabbing bandages out of his pouch. It was odd, one minute they're like rivals, now they're best friends. I'll never understand boys.  
>Daisuke bandaged Lee up, a little tightly, but it was alright. It stopped the bleeding at least. The three of us stood up and faced Kabuto and Susumu, who was starting to falter.<br>"Lee, sit down this time, we'll take care of him." I said. Lee seemed reluctant, he did not sit down.  
>"But Setsuki-san, I said I would protect you. I cannot go against my word." Lee said. Daisuke seemed irritated.<br>"I'll protect her now." Daisuke said, putting his hand on Lee's shoulder, forcing him down.  
>Kabuto started to snicker as the shadows slowly began to release him, due to Susumu's growing fatigue. These three weren't going to stop till Kabuto was dead, but I didn't want them to kill him.. but I wasn't going to say it out loud..<br>Suddenly, Susumu fell unconscious to the ground, as if being hit by something powerful. Then seconds after, Daisuke did the same thing, then Lee, then I felt something heavy smack my head, immediately everything went black.


	59. Chapter 59

When I woke up, I heard my name being called over and over, very quietly. The voice was somewhat weak, and coarse. I open my eyes and shoot straight up, my eyes wide and my head aching. I saw Susumu laying on the ground, laying on his stomach, panting heavily and sweating majorly.  
>I ran to his side, and knelt beside him, immediately placing my hand on his back.<br>"S-Susumu! Are you alright!?"  
>"S..Se..Setsuki... Setsu...ki..." He kept muttering my name under his uneven breath.<br>"I-I'm here, Susumu! Open your eyes!" I pleaded. Susumu's eyes slowly opened, only halfway. We made brief eye contact. His hand slowly, and feebly made its way up to my chest, he gripped my shirt and pulled me down so my head was near his, he then proceeded to mutter into my ear.  
>"O-Oro..chimaru..." He started to cough, his arm lost strength and fell to the ground.<br>"Orochimaru!? Did.. did he do this to you?!" I questioned.  
>Susumu's breathing became heavy, and hazy. "I... f-feel... cold.." He whispered under his last breath before he stopped breathing completely. My eyes widened, I panicked.<br>"Su...SUSUMU!" I started to shake him violently. I look around the room quickly, that's when I noticed we were in some sort of cellar. I saw another cell, parallel to ours, and I saw Daisuke and Lee still unconscious in there. I run to the metal bars keeping me bound inside. "DAISUKE-KUN! LEE-SAN!" I cried.  
>Daisuke seemed to groan at the sound of my voice, he woke up. "Setsu...ki?" He looked around, rubbing his head. When he realized where we were, he immediately stood up and clung to the bars on his cell, facing me. "Setsuki! What happened?! Where are we!?"<br>I tried to explain that I didn't know where we were, but I told him what happened to Susumu and he almost choked.  
>"That bastard better wake up before I come over there and slap him awake!" Daisuke shifted his gaze from me to Susumu. "SUSUMU! WAKE UP! WAKE UP YOU BASTARD! DON'T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE!" He warned, raising his voice. It was loud enough to awaken Lee. Lee sat up slowly, groaning in pain from his wounds, but when he fully awakened, he also jumped to his feet.<br>"Daisuke-kun?" Lee inquired, facing the roaring blondie. "What is going on? Where are we- SETSUKI-SAN!" Lee clung to the bars too. Daisuke shot him a dirty look.  
>"Lee-san! Are you okay?" I asked, referring to his wounds. Daisuke lowered his eyes on Lee, to see his wounds, he then growled.<br>"His bandages have been torn off!" Daisuke said, rather irritated. "Your beloved green suit is now red.."  
>"What!" Lee lowered his gaze to his own stomach, and gave a disappointed face. "... Gai-sensei will not be happy about this!"<br>"You idiot! This is no time to be thinking about that stupid sensei of yours!" Daisuke gushed, he reached into his pockets to pull out another bandage. Lee faced Daisuke, ready to retort, however Daisuke raised his voice to prevent Lee from talking. "Sit down and I'll bandage you up again.. jeez such a pain."  
>Lee shook his head defiantly. "I will be fine, but thank you for your concern, Daisuke-kun.." Lee spoke. Daisuke wasn't satisfied with that answer.<br>"No. You will sit the fuck down, and let me re-bandage your wounds!" Daisuke gushed. Lee gave a challenging glare.I turn my attention back to Susumu who wasn't moving. I started to panic, and I turned to Daisuke and Lee to ask for suggestions on what I should do, when I saw Daisuke pinning Lee to the ground, trying to bandage his stomach while Lee squirmed around trying to get free. "Stay still you bastard!"  
>"Guys.. please stop messing around." I grumble. They both looked at me, and realized how immature they were being, so they both cooperated momentarily until Daisuke bandaged Lee's wounds to stop the bleeding.<br>"Don't worry Setsuki, I'll get us out of here. I just need to break down these metal bars.." Daisuke said.  
>"Leave that to me." Lee said, completely focused. Daisuke had a look that he didn't want to look second best, especially to Lee. This was no time to be competing against each other. I approach Susumu again, and kneel down beside him. I heard both Daisuke and Lee bashing against the bars, trying to escape.<p>

It seemed like hours, hours of listening to the same repetitive banging on the bars from Daisuke and Lee who were slowly wearing themselves out by doing so. Susumu had a pulse, even though he wasn't breathing, so I sat beside his body and kept a close eye on him. I was leaning against the wall, my eyes felt heavy, I was tired. I closed my eyes for a moment, when I heard Daisuke and Lee growl at something, other than each other. There was a third voice in the room. I click awake, and saw the figure standing between our cells. Kabuto. He scorned at the duo.  
>"Would you two stop making such a racket? Lord Orochimaru is trying to rest." Kabuto said. Daisuke spat at Kabuto's face. Kabuto turned his head away to avoid it. He adjusted his glasses, and gave a mocking sigh. "That wasn't very smart of you, then again.. you are blonde."<br>"You can go tell that Orochimaru bastard to go shove a kunai up his ass!" Daisuke gushed. Lee seemed to give an intimidating look towards Kabuto. I hugged my knees, not wanting to draw attention to myself, I just stared at Kabuto, saddened by the fact he tried to kill me.  
>Kabuto seemed to become agitated at his remark. "I would watch your tongue if I were you." He warned. Daisuke would not be intimidated.<br>"What're you going to do about it?!" Daisuke questioned. Lee gripped Daisuke's shoulder, a physical message to say shut up. Kabuto didn't seem impressed at all.  
>"Do you want to be poisoned? How about Manda's venom? It would paralyze you for weeks, meaning you would die a slow painful death." Kabuto sneered, he kept naming different types of poisons, each getting more and more vile. It made me cringe and my stomach turn. To hear him speaking so dark, it bothered me to a great extent. "Now, how's the little pawn coming along?" He peered into my cell, looking down at Susumu. I kept staring at him, frowning. It seemed to amuse him.<br>"Don't call my teammate your pawn you little 4-eyed freak!" Daisuke shouted. Kabuto adjusted his glasses again.  
>Kabuto opened the cell, I tensed. I had to do something to free us all. I slowly reached into my pouch to grab a kunai, hoping he wouldn't notice. Kabuto closed the cell door behind him, then approached Susumu. He knelt down on one knee, and reached his hand out towards him. I quickly jumped up in the blink of an eye, swung a Leaf Hurricane at his chest, which surprisingly hit him, and flung him into the wall. I grab Susumu, throw him over my shoulder then run for the door.<br>Kabuto grumbled, pulling himself out of the rubble. I kick the cell door open, then Daisuke got all excited.  
>"Setsuki, open this door so I can kick the crap out of that guy!" Daisuke demanded.<br>Lee stood up straight. I was already tugging at the lock on the door, trying to bust it open.  
>"What a stupid mistake.." Kabuto's voice gushed from behind me.<br>"Setsuki behind you!" Daisuke shouted, I quickly turn, but Kabuto struck. My neck suddenly acquired a sharp pain and I dropped Susumu. "Setsuki!" Daisuke began to get enraged. "How dare you hurt her!"  
>I fell to the ground, and held the side of my neck where the pain is. "K-Kabuto! Why are you acting like you don't remember me!?" I question.<br>"Oh I remember you alright, Setsuki." He said. Daisuke and Lee looked between us curiously.  
>"Y.. You do?"<br>"You're the annoying little wench at the Chuunin Exams." He said, pulling out a card from his pocket. He showed me the front, the same info cards he had at the Chuunin Exams. It was my picture, my stats, my teammates, everything about me. "The one I had to play an act for. So annoying. Stop playing your game now."  
>"W.. what?" I was a little shocked. "What act?! What're you talking about?!"<br>"Lord Orochimaru has done some history check of you. Your home village was destroyed, am I right? It was said you had a cousin that shared my name." He sniggered. "He told me to convince you that I was him, that way you would open up to me quite easily! And you know the funny part? You _did_!" He scoffed.  
>I felt hurt, but I didn't show it. What scared me was the others were all listening and taking it in.<br>"S.. Setsuki-san.. is.. is that true?" Lee asked.  
>"Your cousin's name is Yakushi Kabuto!?" Daisuke questioned. I couldn't hide it now. I lower my head and nod. "So you're saying, this guy is your cousin?!" Daisuke glared at Kabuto, who met his gaze.<br>"I'm afraid you are wrong. I am not her cousin. I only played along." He snickered. "My history is none of your concern. But I assure you," Kabuto looked down at me. "she is not a part of my life."  
>"Then what is your father's name?!" I question.<br>"I don't have a father. Or a mother, before you ask. Nor any family. I work for Lord Orochimaru, _he_ is my family. I have no business with you lot. Now, die." Kabuto had his hand glow with chakra again. Was he.. telling the truth? Is he really not my cousin? I wanted to know more! But I don't think I was gonna get any more information out of him. I sighed quietly and prepared myself for another battle. Suddenly a kunai flew from behind Kabuto, clipping a few strands of hairs and gliding along the very edge of his glasses, and kept going. Kabuto tensed the slightest bit.  
>"Well well.. seems we have a few more rodents.." Kabuto grimaced. Suddenly, we saw a smoke bomb heading our way, it landed beside Kabuto's feet, and exploded, white smoke covered the area. I cover my mouth, trying not to cough, I heard Lee and Daisuke cough. I also heard the lock on on their cell door break. I felt a hand grab my arm, it forcefully raised me to my feet and lifted me off the ground. I tried to reach out for Susumu but I couldn't. Kabuto broke the silence by coughing a few times, but his cough got quieter and quieter. I was being carried over someone's shoulder, but I couldn't tell who.<p>

We escaped outside and the person leaped through the trees hastily. I saw another two people following, I squinted my eyes, and recognised them. Tenten, and Gai-sensei. I saw the brown hair flying from the side of my head, I turn and recognise Neji. Tenten was carrying Susumu on her back, and Gai-sensei was carrying Daisuke and Lee, one in each arm, Daisuke kicking and thrashing about. I felt somewhat happy, but surprised at the same time. At least we were saved. 


	60. Chapter 60

We managed to flee until we lost our pursuers, then headed back to the village. The trio were rather quiet the whole time, and they kept giving us stern looks when we arrived, except Tenten who was giving a somewhat relieved expression.  
>Neji finally put me down, Tenten resumed carrying Susumu on her back, then Gai-sensei hit Daisuke and Lee's heads together because they kept arguing over small things, he then dropped them. We all look up at Gai-sensei, he seemed to have a very serious expression, which is very unlike him. But he didn't scare me as much as Komaru-sensei would when he's angry..<br>"Gai-sensei!" Lee spoke up.  
>"Shush Lee. I need to have a word with you lot." Gai-sensei replied, folding his arms. I was still thinking '<em>Not as scary as Komaru-sensei.<em>'  
>"Hey! If it's about us leaving, we were only trying to get Komaru-sensei back!" Daisuke shouted as he stood up.<br>"I understand.. your intentions... however, leaving the village without-"  
>"Tsunade wouldn't let us leave! You think we're just gonna sit around while Komaru-sensei is probably-"<br>Gai-sensei cleared his throat very loudly. "Guidance." We all blink towards him. "I know it is wrong to leave without the Hokage's permission, but! When a friend is in trouble, then you must act!" He raised his voice. "And that is when you come to me!"  
>"... What're you trying to say?" Daisuke asked.<br>Gai-sensei gave a thumbs up to Daisuke's face. "If you had've come to me first, I would have helped you lot! But because you left the village on your own accord, without telling anyone, you are in serious trouble! It's lucky, that word didn't get to the Hokage about this.."  
>"She.. doesn't know?" I asked, standing up. Gai-sensei shook his head.<br>"Well if she doesn't know, how did you know where we were?" Daisuke asked.  
>"How do I know?" Gai-sensei turned to Lee, then pointed at him. "Because my most youthful student didn't turn up to training this morning!" Lee lowered his head shamefully.<br>"I.. I-I am sorry Gai-sensei!" Lee bowed on his hands and knees. "I will punish myself!"  
>"That, will not be necessary." Gai-sensei said, a slight smirk on his face. Lee lifted his head just enough to glimpse at Gai-sensei. "Because you have a good reason to not have turned up! You were helping my <em>other<em> most youthful student!" Suddenly, I was being pressed into Gai-sensei's chest, with his arm, around me, that I didn't even notice, it made my eyes widen. Gai-sensei chuckled loudly.  
>Daisuke glared at Gai-sensei before taking my hand and pulling me away. "I meant, how did you know we were.. at Orochimaru's-"<br>"I have knowledge! I'm not a simpleton such as yourself, blondie!" Gai-sensei laughed as he ruffled Daisuke's hair. "I've known that guy.. Komaru has been captured by Orochimaru. We learned of this weeks ago."  
>We all gasp. "What?!"<br>"We... have been sending top quality ninjas to find him, but none have had any results. When I heard from a certain _uncle_ of a certain _letter.. _I knew exactly where you four had gone." Gai-sensei hinted towards me, which caused all eyes to fall on me.  
>"Setsuki! Did you leave a letter for Takashi?" Daisuke questioned.<br>"I-I wrote I was away on a mission! I didn't say anything about where we were going!" I exclaim.  
>"Then... how.."<br>"Takashi is smarter than you all think. He's not a simpleton, like you blondie." Gai-sensei ruffled Daisuke's hair, again. Daisuke's hair fell over his eyes, he wasn't happy.  
>"G-GAI-SENSEI!" Tenten shrieked. We all turn to her, startled. "This guy! He stopped breathing!" Tenten gestured to Susumu. My eyes widen again.<br>"We have to get him to hospital!" Lee spoke up. We quickly agreed and rushed off. I didn't have time to pay attention to the noises my stomach was making.

Susumu was taken straight to the emergency room, whereas we (Daisuke and I) forced Lee into the waiting room so he could get his wounds looked at, and at the same time, I was going to get Daisuke looked at too.  
>"Uh, Rock Lee?" The nurse called as she stood by the examination room door, looking at her clipboard. Lee shied away from that direction, I frowned, grabbed his arm, forced him to stand, then turned to Daisuke who looked at me blankly.<br>"Come on Daisuke-kun." I said. He blinked.  
>"I'll be fine, I'll wait here." He said. I shook my head, grabbed his wrist and pulled him up too. "Woah! Hey! What're you-"<br>"You're getting looked at too!"  
>Daisuke frowned for a moment, then he looked at me with a slight smirk. "Fine, but as long as <em>you <em>get looked at too, Setsuki!"  
>I didn't think there was anything wrong with me, but I nodded, and dragged them both to the room. The nurse smiled and held the door open for us. "Which one of you is Rock Lee?" She asked, as she closed the door. Lee immediately pointed at Daisuke.<br>"What!" Daisuke squeaked, he then blushed of embarrassment of his high pitched voice.  
>"Well then, Rock Lee, please come sit down." The nurse placed her hands on Daisuke's shoulders and pushed him down onto the examination stretcher lightly. I frown, hit Lee over the back of the head, getting a high pitched 'Ow!' from him. I walked over to the stretcher.<br>"Daisuke-kun. Get off the stretcher." I ordered. The nurse looked at me strangely.  
>"Does that mean I don't have to be examined!?" Daisuke smiled as he sat up.<br>"... As a matter of fact.. Excuse me miss." I smile innocently at the nurse, she smiled back.  
>"Yes?"<br>"Would you mind looking at my friend Daisuke-kun here?" I asked, in a very polite voice. She smiled back and looked down at Daisuke.  
>"Hey! No!" Daisuke got up, but then I pinned him back down onto the stretcher. "N-No! Off! Setsuki, please!"<br>Lee was laughing quite loudly in the background. "I promise I will get checked up too if you do, Daisuke-kun." I said, Daisuke contemplated it for a moment, but frowned and laid there. The nurse lifted his shirt off, revealing a few minor cuts, bruises and scratches, not to mention... Daisuke-kun has a very nice... set of abs..  
>I caught myself staring, and mentally slap myself. Daisuke noticed and grinned quite smugly.<br>"Do you.. like it Setsuki?" He asked, giving me some sort of seductive look, but I didn't understand how he meant that.  
>"Um.. what?" I pretended I didn't hear him. He gestured to his stomach. I just gave him a blank expression. "... What?"<br>Daisuke died a little inside. "D-Don't worry.." He whined. The nurse cleaned up each scratch and gave him a few small bandaids. She turned to Lee.  
>"Okay, Rock Lee, you're next."<br>Lee sighed and pouted as he walked over to the stretcher obediently. Daisuke waited by the wall where Lee was standing previously. I remained standing by the stretcher. The nurse almost gasped at the wound on his stomach. She noticed him cringing as he laid down on his back.  
>"Please turn to your side." She instructed, Lee obeyed. She examined his back and gasped again. "Goodness! These are some deep wounds! I.. don't think they're deep enough to hurt any organs though, he should be okay after some rest." She explained, then professionally bandaged his wounds. Lee sat up, unable to put the top half of his suit back from from the bandages, I caught myself staring at him too... Lee also happened to notice.<br>"Uh.. Setsuki-san?"  
>"... What?" I played the same trick as Daisuke. Lee scratched his chin, then shook his head and stood up. I watched his muscular back as he walked over to Daisuke who was glaring.<br>"Alright Setsuki.. it your turn.." Daisuke mentioned. I nodded and sat on the bed, both Lee and Daisuke seemed to become eager as they stared at me. The nurse turned them them and bowed politely.  
>"Would you two gentlemen kindly leave to give her some privacy?" She asked politely, both their jaws dropped to the ground. "... Please?" They both whined and left the room. After the door closed behind them I took my shirt off and allowed her to examine me, but she couldn't see anything wrong. The nurse gave me a raspberry flavoured lollipop for being such a good patient.<p>

I joined the two boys outside who were threatening each other.. with their biceps. They were flexing at each other, both trying to make their muscles seem bigger than the other, but to me they were the same size. I scratched my head and approached them.  
>"Um.. Komaru-sensei's muscles are bigger than both of yours put together!" I exclaim, making them both jump. I smile at them and hand my lollipop to Daisuke, he returned a blank, but questioning expression. "Could you please unwrap this for me?" I asked, I couldn't get it open, I always struggled with them. Daisuke smirked and put his hand on the wrapper, about to untwist it, when Lee snatched it.<br>"Allow me, Setsuki-san!" Lee exclaimed, he unwrapped it with ease. Daisuke's eye twitched. Lee handed it back to me, and I smiled at him.  
>"Thank you Lee-san!" I said, then put it in my mouth. Lee smiled back and rubbed the back of his head while chuckling quietly. Daisuke was fuming.<br>"Setsuki-chan asked _me_ to do that!"  
>"Well I was more capable, than you, simpleton-kun." Lee almost mimicked Gai-sensei's tone from before. Daisuke glared.<br>"What was.. _that_?"  
>"I said, <em>Simple..ton..kun..<em>" Lee mocked.  
>"THAT DOES IT!" Daisuke tackled Lee to the ground. I didn't really care, I was too busy enjoying the taste of my lollipop.<br>"I'm gonna go see how Susumu-kun is going.. see ya!" I started to speed walk away, they kept calling out for me to wait up. But I didn't.  
>"ROCK LEE!" An angry nurse shouted, I stopped at the screaming of Lee. I turn to see her twisting his arm backwards behind his back, Lee crouching and whimpering. "I TOLD YOU TO GET INTO A ROOM AND REST! NOT GET INTO FIGHTS! YOU NEED TO REST!"<br>I actually started to laugh at the sight, I couldn't believe it.  
>"I-I'M TERRIBLY SORRY!" Lee cried back, but she ended up dragging him away, and Daisuke realized I hadn't left yet, and he sped over to me. We went to visit Susumu together.<p>

Gai-sensei and Tenten were sitting in the waiting room just outside the emergency room, apparently Neji had somewhere to be.  
>"How is he?" I ask. Gai-sensei looked up at me and sighed.<br>"We've had no news yet. But Setsuki, I am sure he'll be fine!" Gai-sensei gave me a thumbs up for support, it cheered me up a little. Daisuke was staring at the doors for a moment, then he faced me.  
>"Hey, that bastard can get through my beatings, he can get through this, 'kay?" He said, petting me on the shoulder. I smirk a little at his remark, then give a slow nod. I was almost down to the stick of the lollipop so I crunched what was left of it, swallowed it, then just gnawed on the stick.<br>Daisuke just stared at it, it was annoying me.  
>"You're supposed to <em>suck<em> it Setsuki. Not crunch it off." Daisuke said. I blink.  
>"But.. there wasn't much of it. I normally just crunch off the last of it." I explain. Tenten was giving Daisuke the most foul look I've ever seen, and Gai-sensei had his head buried in his hand. I hesitantly grab the stick and take it out of my mouth. Daisuke grabbed it and threw it in the bin for me, I frowned, there was still a little bit of flavour on it.. Daisuke gave me a proud grin.<p>

Minutes later the red light above the emergency room turned green, and the doors opened. A medical nin came out, wiping sweat from his forehead. We all stared at him.  
>"Uh... do any of you know a person named Hatake Kakashi?"<br>We all kinda nodded in sync. "Kakashi.. Kakashi.." Gai-sensei started to chuckle.  
>"Could.. someone go and fetch him for us?"<br>"Why?" Tenten asked.  
>".. B.. Because.. he is the only one who can fix this.."<br>"We'll do it!" I exclaim.  
>"We?" Daisuke asked, his expression showing excitement.<br>"Yup! Lets go Tenten!" I called. Tenten smiled sweetly and stood up to join me. Daisuke went and sobbed in the corner for some reason.

So Tenten and I began our hunt for Kakashi-sensei. But do you think we could find him? No.  
>"Where on Earth could he be?!" She questioned.<br>"... OHH! LETS GO FIND NARUTO-KUN!" I shouted.  
>"D.. do ya have to yell?" She grumbled, covering her eyes. I nodded, and took her hand and ran as fast as I could to Ichirakus.<p>

"I'm sorry Setsuki, Naruto just left about 10 minutes ago." Teuchi said. I nod understanding, then thought he was headed home, so I dragged Tenten to Naruto's house. But he wasn't home.  
>"How is waiting at Naruto's house going to help us find Kakashi-sensei?" Tenten asked.<br>"Naruto-kun would know where Kakashi-sensei is!" I exclaimed.  
>"... You sure about that?"<br>"Positive!" We saw Naruto approaching us as he was headed home.

"Uhh.. I haven't seen Kakashi-sensei all day.. why?" Naruto asked.  
>Tenten frowned at me, I nervously shrug at her. "Uh, we need to find him!" I said.<br>"Yeah, but why?"  
>"I dunno, some medical nin wants him!"<br>"Uh.. Okay, I can help you look, dattebayo!" Naruto offered. I grinned. "I'll get my shadow clones to help!" Naruto summoned about 10 shadow clones, and they all dispersed into the village. The three of us stuck together and looked.  
>We bumped into Kiba and Ino, the two people I don't like. I frowned at them.<br>"What's all the commotion with the clones?" Ino asked.  
>"We're trying to find Kakashi-sensei." Tenten said.<br>"Why?" Kiba asked.  
>"Because a puppy is dying! We need Kakashi-sensei to help it!" I exclaim, Kiba's eyes widened.<br>"WHAT!?" Both Tenten and Naruto gave me strange looks. "I'LL HELP YA LOOK FOR KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Kiba exclaimed. I put my hands on my hips feeling proud. Ino didn't seem too convinced though. Kiba zoomed off with Akamaru, trying to pick up Kakashi-sensei's scent. Ino just rolled her eyes and walked back inside, grumbling to herself. We had to chase after Kiba, in case he finds Kakashi.

However Kiba's nose was useless. He wasn't able to pick up Kakashi's scent anywhere, but he refused to give up, he wanted to prove he could be useful. I kept staring at Akamaru who was glaring at me. I kinda really wanted to pet him, but he didn't look friendly. Uncle Takashi always said not to pet a dog unless it's tamed and friendly.  
>"Surely he has to be around somewhere.." Tenten mentioned.<br>"Is he on a mission or something perhaps?" Kiba suggested.  
>"Why don't we go ask Lady Tsunade?" Tenten asked, her eyes glowing with happiness.<br>"She scares me!" Kiba exclaimed.  
>"Yeah! Granny Tsunade scares me too!" Naruto concurred. Tenten frowned and hit them both over the head.<br>"Lady Tsunade is not scary, and be polite when saying her name!" Tenten gushed. We all stared at each other with blank expressions.  
>"... Hey Naruto, have any of your clones found him yet?" Tenten finally asked.<br>"Uhh.. no." Naruto replied.  
>"We're not gonna find him standing around here!" I mention.<br>"I know what to do!" Naruto exclaims. We all face him with questioning looks. "We.. will go get Sakura-chan! If anyone knows where Kakashi-sensei is, it has to be Sakura!" He got all mushy in the face, giving pathetic grins.  
>"Huh. No. I'll smell him out!" Kiba stated. He kept sniffing, but Akamaru didn't seem as enthusiastic as Kiba.<br>"You can't though! You're nose isn't _that_ good." I said. Kiba glared at me.  
>"You shut your mouth! I can! You watch me!" Kiba growled.<br>"Hey woah, chill guys. There's no need to fight!" Tenten said, waving her arms between us. There were sparks between Kiba's eyes and mine.  
>"<em>She <em>started it!" Kiba huffed, poking me on the shoulder rather hard. With his sharp nails it hurt.  
>"Hey!" I poke him back harder on his chest. We glared at each other, he hit me, I hit him back harder. He then punched me, so I punched him in the face, a little too hard, it sent him flying down the street. Akamaru growled at me. Tenten frowned. Naruto was grinning.<br>"Yeah! That's what happens when you mess with Ame-chan!" He cheered. I felt proud. Tenten glared at Naruto.  
>"Fang over Fang!" I felt a huge impact on my stomach, followed quickly by another, I went flying down the other side of the street, and crashed through one of the wooden walls. I crash into a building, it hurt. I stood up slowly, rubbing my back, then glared at Kiba who was standing with his hands on his hips victoriously.<br>I thought this was a good time to try out my new jutsu I've been experimenting with. I did a few hand signs. "Water Style: Great Water Snake Jutsu!" I extend my arm, a huge gush of water sprung from my arm and took the form of a giant snake, which got bigger and bigger as it bolted towards Kiba, it bit down hard on Kiba, and kept going, until it smashed into a huge building, all the water impacting him, pushing him further into the wall, creating a dint in the wall. I run back to Tenten and Naruto, grinning to myself. It finally worked! Next step was to make it as powerful as a jet!  
>Kiba whimpered quietly, trying to cover up all the pain he was in. He then run back towards me, a kunai in his hand, I draw a kunai too. As soon as Kiba leaped at me Tenten suddenly stepped forward, grabbed both our heads and bashed them together.<br>"OWWWW!" He both cradle ourselves on the ground cringing in pain, holding our heads.  
>"STOP FIGHTING!" Tenten roared. We both whimpered, she was scarier than I thought, apparently Kiba thought so too, we both clung to each other for our lives, Tenten looked like she was going to murder us. Akamaru stood beside Tenten, and lifted his hind leg. Our eyes widened.<br>"A-AKAMARU! DON'T-"  
>"EWWW! GROSS!" Tenten kicked Akamaru so hard, he went flying into the air whining, and probably halfway across the village. Both Kiba and I gulped in fear. Even Naruto backed off. Tenten was on fire.<p>

We continued to walk through the village, in silence this time. Both Kiba and I had massive lumps on our heads, and we kept glaring at each other as we walked.  
>The sun was slowly starting to set, and we still had no sign of Kakashi-sensei anywhere.<br>"Where the hell is he?!" Naruto finally broke the silence.  
>We just happened to walk by his apartment. The door slowly opened, and out came the Copy Ninja. Kakashi-sensei shut the door behind him and fiddled around with his keys and locked the door. We all frowned. He turned and saw us glaring at him, he sweatdropped.<br>"Uh... something wrong?" He asked, blinking.  
>"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" We all shouted at once, at the top of our lungs. Kakashi-sensei leaned backwards.<br>"... Me? .. I've uh.. I've been doing things.." He saw our glares become even more intense. "You don't think I've been sitting inside all day reading the new edition of Icha-Icha do you?" He seemed shifty about his sentence, he refused to make eye contact.  
>"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" We shout. After noticing his hands behind his back, he got suspicious.<br>"W-What? I wasn't! I.. uh... was about to take care of this dog that came smashing through my window.." Kakashi-sensei brought his arm forward, holding a beaten up Akamaru.  
>"Akamaru!" Kiba stepped forward and grabbed Akamaru, hugging him tightly.<br>"You need to come with us now, Kakashi-sensei." I said. Kakashi-sensei seemed reluctant, he was about to think of an excuse, to escape.  
>"Yeah! There's a puppy in danger and we need you!" Kiba shouted. Tenten frowned, hit me over the head again.<br>"Ow!" Right on my other lump. I rub my head, cringing in pain.  
>"A.. puppy? Take it to the vet." Kakashi-sensei said.<br>"It's not a puppy, Kakashi-sensei. Setsuki's teammate is in hospital, and the doctor guy asked us to find you to help him or something." Tenten said. Kiba turned to me.  
>"What! So.. there's no puppy?" Kiba asked. I laugh nervously and stand behind Tenten. Kiba glared at me. "Lame.." Kiba turned and walked away to get Akamaru treated.<br>We dragged Kakashi-sensei to the hospital, much against his will, and the medical nins weren't proud of how long we took. Kakashi went into the emergency room where Susumu still was, Gai-sensei was still sitting there with Daisuke, having a good chat, which I found rather strange, but good at the same time. Daisuke was bonding with Gai-sensei!  
>Suddenly Gai-sensei punched Daisuke to the ground after Daisuke seemed to ask a question.<br>"OW! DAMMIT! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Daisuke stood up rubbing his cheek. Gai-sensei stood up tall and pointed down at him.  
>"You fool! You cannot expect something like that to happen! You must be more of a man! You must <em>prove<em> yourself!"  
>"How?!"<br>Gai-sensei pulled out another green suit and held it out to Daisuke, who turned pale at the sight of it. "_If_ you wear this, you will become stronger, AND you can make yourself into more of a man! It all starts with youth!"  
>Daisuke frowned, and gave a disgusted look at it. I smile and walk over.<br>"Do it Daisuke-kun! You should wear it!" I exclaim. Tenten frowned, but Daisuke seemed to be more convinced after looking at me.  
>"Are... you sure? You.. you won't laugh at me, will you?"<br>"Laugh? Why would I laugh?" I took the suit from Gai-sensei and held it out to Daisuke. "They're brilliant!"  
>Daisuke hesitantly took it. "Fine..."<br>"And don't forget these!" Gai-sensei interrupted, pulling out a pair of orange leg warmers. I sometimes feel like his jonin jacket is a closet, rather than a jacket.  
>"Too far." Daisuke rejected. Gai-sensei put them in Daisuke's hand.<br>"Now go home. It's getting late." Gai-sensei said, pointing to the door.  
>"What about Susumu?" I asked.<br>"He's stable. Nothing to worry about." Gai-sensei gave us a thumbs up, reassuring us. So Daisuke decided that he needed to escort me home, so he did. It was there I was faced with an angry uncle. I wasn't gonna hear the end of this lecture..


	61. Chapter 61

Sunrise the next morning, I dress in my green suit, orange leg warmers and sprint out the door. I arrived at our usual meeting place, which was empty as usual. I jogged on the spot to warm up a bit, then I saw a cloaked figure approaching me.  
>I watched as the person walked right up to me, I could see blonde hair underneath the hood. He looked up and into my eyes. Daisuke.<br>"Daisuke-kun? What's.. with the cloak?" I asked. He smirked.  
>"Behold, Setsuki." He clapped his hands twice, a spotlight arose from the ground, I swear I swore someone holding it up. It turned on and flashed right onto Daisuke. He tore off the cloak and stood on a rock, poking his butt out and he grinned at me. My eyes widen, he was wearing the suit Gai-sensei gave him, the leg warmers, and he even moved his headband to his waist, and his eyes glistened in the light. I was in total awe. "It suits me, doesn't it?" He stood up straight and flexed his arms, as if showing off. I had the biggest dopey grin, and I didn't even realize. "Look look! You can see my muscles through it!"<br>I nod slightly, my grin widening. I then felt a hand on my shoulder, Gai-sensei. He knelt down to my height, pulled me close to him and gestured at Daisuke with his other hand. I heard the spotlight smash on the ground in the background. It went dark again. "Isn't it amazing?! The youth! The fantastic body structure of youthful Daisuke-kun, the way it fits perfectly into my suit, showing his youth!"  
>Daisuke flashed a grin, and a thumbs up, his teeth even sparkled. I felt jealous again, even Daisuke-kun's teeth could sparkle!<br>"But of course... Daisuke is not complete!" Gai-sensei announced. Both Daisuke and I blinked and tilted our heads at Gai-sensei. "Because...!" Gai-sensei clapped his hands twice. A person jumped out from the bushes, rolled like a ball in the air then landed on his feet smoothly, in front of Daisuke. The person stood with hands on their hips, their head raised high and proudly into the air. The spotlight turned on again. Lee. I was surprised at the sight. Someone held a hairdryer aimed at Lee, causing his hair to blow perfectly. Lee looked at me and grinned, his teeth sparkled. "Because Lee is the perfect example! His silky black shiny hair, that pristine bowl cut, his-" Gai-sensei nudged my arm with his elbow, wiggling his eyebrows at me. "Slim, perfect body structure, fits perfectly into that suit!" I gave a blank expression. I look at the person holding the hairdryer, Tenten. I look over my shoulder, Neji was holding the spotlight, his hair was covering his eyes.  
>"Why did I agree to this..." Neji grumbled under his breath. I was a little confused at what was going on, but the scene of Lee's hair blowing was so beautiful, it made my eyes water.<br>"OI!" Daisuke shouted, knocking Lee over.  
>"Owaah!"<br>"What the hell is this!? Why's Lee here!? This was _my_ show!" Daisuke complained, gesturing to himself. Gai-sensei stood up and chuckled.  
>"You can't hog all the spot light, Daisuke!" Gai-sensei said, pointing at him. Lee laid there holding his wound.<br>"Lee-san, why are you out of the hospital?" I bluntly asked. Lee blinked and jumped up, acting like nothing was wrong.  
>"I-I am all better, Setsuki-san! E-er.. I mean, Setsuki-<em>chan<em>!"  
>"Chan..?" I blinked and shook my head. "Are you sure? The nurse lady said your wound needed rest!" I exclaimed. Lee shook his head confidently.<br>"It is completely fine! I am completely healed!"  
>I didn't believe him. I walked up to him, he watched me cautiously. I pat his stomach, he tensed slightly, but it was barely noticeable. I stood up and smiled up at him. He smiled back with a '<em>I told you so<em>' expression. I suddenly whack his stomach, he howled in pain and fell to his knees cringing. Everyone's eyes widened in my direction. I frowned, a little saddened.  
>"You lied!" I squeaked. Everyone else frowned. I knelt down, grabbed Lee's hand and pulled him back to his feet. His cheeks were a little red. Daisuke growled under his breath. "Come on, back to the hospital!" I began to drag him back.<br>"H-Hey! No! Setsuki-sa-chan! Please! I do not want to!"  
>"Setsuki...?" Gai-sensei seemed utterly confused. He muttered something under his breath, it sounded like "Was she not affected by my perfectly planned performance?" He scratched his chin.<br>"Gai-sensei I told you it wouldn't work." Tenten grumbled. I heard the spotlight smash into the ground again.  
>"I can stop holding this thing now!" Neji cheered to himself, no one paid any attention to him though.<br>"Setsuki! Wait!" Daisuke called, he ran up to me and stood in front of me, blocking my path. I stared at him. "Don't you.. don't you like it? Does this not suit me?" Daisuke was pouting, his bottom lip quivering like a small child.  
>I smile at him. "It definitely suits you, Daisuke-kun!" I exclaimed, giving him a thumbs up. I tried to smile and have my teeth sparkle, but they didn't sparkle. It was disappointing.<br>"Y.. You think so?"  
>I nod. "Yup! Come on, Daisuke-kun. We'll take Lee-san back to the hospital, and we'll visit Susumu-kun while we're there!" I said. Daisuke frowned at Lee, but agreed. Tenten walked over to us and folded her arms.<br>"You three look ridiculous.." She grumbled. Daisuke pouted at her, but I grinned widely.  
>"Ridiculously good! Right, Tenten-chan!?" I cheered. Lee mimicked my expression and stood up straight, gripped my hand tighter and gave a thumbs up to Tenten with his other hand.<br>"Truly handsome! Together, Setsuki-chan, Daisuke-kun, and I, Rock Lee, the Handsome Devil of the Leaf, will brighten the world with our illuminating flames of youth!" Lee announced, extending his free arm to Daisuke for a man-hug, surprisingly, Daisuke allowed it, and they both put their arms around each others shoulders. The three of us grinned at Tenten, she frowned and shook her head. The three of us strutted off like that, Daisuke and Lee's arms around each other's shoulders, and Lee holding my hand.

We obtained countless strange looks, until we found Naruto. He saw us, his draw dropped, and he rushed away rather quickly. It wasn't until 10 minutes later we realized why he reacted like that. He came running back dressed in the same suit as us! He also had two bits of black cardboard taped over his eyebrows, as if mocking Lee.  
>"You have one too, Naruto-kun!?" I questioned. Naruto nodded eagerly.<br>"Bushy Brows-sensei gave it to me _ages_ ago, dattebayo!" Naruto and I put our arms around each others shoulders, Lee refused to let go of my hand so I didn't try to fight him. Daisuke frowned at Naruto.  
>"Oi.. Naruto, swap places?" He asked.<br>"No way, dattebayo!"  
>"Tch.."<p>

The nurse didn't greet Lee kindly, and forced him back into the room, it took the three of us to hold Lee down so the nurse could strap him down to the bed, so he wouldn't escape again. The nurse gave us all a lollipop for our help. Lee was whining because he couldn't move, and we all walked to the door.  
>"Sorry Lee-san... but if you don't rest, you can't get better.. and if you don't get better, we can't train together!" I mentioned. Lee seemed to accept what I said.<br>"If.. he doesn't get better.. he can't train with Setsuki-chan.. and if he can't train with Suki-chan.. then I can train with Suki-chan!" Daisuke was talking quietly to himself, I wasn't listening.  
>"I'll come back soon, Lee-san! I'll bring you some ice cream.. or-or curry!" I said. The nurse hit me over the head, hard. "Ow!"<br>"Eating those things will upset his wound even more! Leave him in our care would you."  
>"B-but I would really love some curry!" Lee whined.<br>"SILENCE!" The nurse screamed. We were basically kicked out of the room, I called out to Lee that I would be back. And I damn well meant it too!

Susumu was now in a hospital room, laying silently in his bed, his eyes closed, he looked like he was in pain, he was sweating.  
>"Susumu-kun.." I mumbled. Daisuke walked straight up behind me and nudged me to the side gently.<br>"Susumu you bastard. Wake up already, stop making Setsuki worry!" Daisuke grumbled.  
>"Oi, that's a bit harsh.." Naruto spoke up.<br>"Bah, he's just overreacting! There's no way he could be _that_ hurt. The docs wont even tell us what's wrong with him, so _obviously_ there's nothing wrong." Daisuke mentioned. Naruto stared at Susumu for a moment, with a nostalgic expression.  
>"Hey.. Sasuke showed kinda the same face... when he.." Naruto stood on the other side of the bed and turned Susumu onto his side. Susumu groaned lightly from the movement. Naruto's eyes widen.<br>"What?" Daisuke asked.  
>"It.. it's him.. look!" Naruto pointed to a black mark on Susumu's shoulder.<br>"Him?"  
>"Orochimaru! He gave this same mark to Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed.<br>"M-Mark?" I stuttered. "Does.. that mean he's.. gonna turn on us?"  
>"Susumu? Turn on us? Setsuki, don't think that. This guy would never... but if he did I would protect you from him!" Daisuke announced, attempting to but his arm around me.<br>"First Komaru-sensei's gone... now Susumu-kun.. Daisuke-kun, what's happening to us?" I looked up into his eyes. Daisuke paused for a moment, staring deeply into my eyes.  
>".. Setsuki, if anything does happen.. I'll make sure nothing happens to you... I'll protect you, alright?" He put his hand on my shoulder instead.<br>"I will too Setsuki." Naruto said. We both face him. Naruto points his thumb at his chest. "I want to protect all my friends. That includes Sasuke.."  
>I gave a slight nod. "... Well enough of the sadness now. Susumu seems fine. Looks like the marks all sealed up so he should be fine. Setsuki, lets go get some ice cream.. together..." Daisuke grew a smile.<br>I smile back. "Okay!"


	62. Chapter 62

Daisuke, Naruto and I rushed off to get our ice cream, then we climbed through the window into Lee's room without getting caught, and we gave him a bowl of curry I whipped up at home quickly. The kitchen is a mess because Daisuke and Naruto kept trying to help, but they only ended up trashing the place. So now I had a reason to go home earlier than usual. However, Daisuke told me he wanted to help, and then he muttered something about getting Takashi's approval. So there we were. Both Daisuke and I, cleaning the mess in the kitchen under the supervision of Takashi.  
>"You missed a spot." Takashi pointed out, not budging from his stance – arms folded, legs inches apart, standing up straight, with a somewhat bored expression.<br>"I'LL GET IT!" Daisuke shouted, but then he paused and looked around frantically. When I observed the room, it looked spotless to me. "Where.. is it?" Daisuke asked, looking at Takashi.  
>Takashi looked Daisuke in the eye and smiled. "You. Get out of the kitchen now." Daisuke whimpered and left the kitchen. I showed a blank expression. Takashi faced me. "You too. Go on."<br>I whimpered too, and followed Daisuke into the living room.  
>"He just called me dirty.." Daisuke cried to himself quickly, huddling in a corner. A hand touched my shoulder, making me jump.<br>"Setsuki, go take a shower and clean yourself up. Get ready for bed." Takashi ordered. I groan.  
>"But, Daisuke-kun-"<br>"I'll see him off. Don't worry." Takashi smiled at me so I smiled back and nodded. I went off to have a shower. Takashi faced Daisuke. "Lad."  
>Daisuke looked up at Takashi. "Yes sir?"<br>"Leave."

I spent forever in the shower, just spacing out, not even thinking about anything. When I finally decided to get out, I got ready for bed, and laid down comfortably. Takashi would normally come down and say goodnight. But he didn't. It was strange. Takashi was acting strange lately. He was quiet, and a lot less talkative too. I wonder if something happened..? Or.. was it because of me? I tried not to think about it, I would ask him in the morning! For now, I closed my eyes and drifted soundly off to sleep.

"Uncle Takashi!" I shouted as I ran into the kitchen the following morning. As usual, he stood protectively over his buttered toast, and sipping a hot coffee.  
>"Morning." He replied in a deep tone after clearing his throat. He watched me carefully. His eyes were locked dead on me, like some sort of hawk or something. It was creepy. Without turning his head, his eyes followed mine as I walked around the table at sat down. I almost wanted to run away.<br>"Is uh.. everything alright?" I asked, ignoring the fact that his stare was more of a glare now.  
>".. What makes you say that, Setsuki?" He finally closed his eyes and took a long sip of his coffee.<br>"W-Well... I dunno.. you've been really.. quiet lately?" I mentioned. He sighed and put his coffee down. A sign I was in for a big lecture. Takashi proceeded to talk about how I left without telling anyone with Daisuke, Susumu and Lee, to go somewhere as dangerous as Orochimaru's hideout, where I could've been killed. He repeated that several times, '_You could have been killed_'. I felt really guilty. I never considered Takashi's feelings about this. He deeply cares for me. Takashi is almost like a dad to me.. I was then taken back to the memories of my father. Kuromizu Shou. I can say that dad was my idol. Apparently I am a spitting image of him, I inherited all of his looks, whereas Kaori-nee-chan inherited mum's. I remember... spending quite a lot of time with him, but a lot of it was a blur.  
>I must've had the most nostalgic expression because Takashi pulled me into a deep hug, and kept repeating '<em>Be strong for them.<em>'. Various memories flashed by in my head, one after the other, even if they were a blur, I still cherished those memories deeply.

I had breakfast, and left to find Daisuke. Instead I found Susumu walking about. He looked rather pale. I was surprised to see him looking almost perfectly fine though.  
>I called his name and approached him as fast as I could. "Setsuki! I was on my way to your house." He said.<br>"You were?"  
>"Yeah. None of the doctors would tell me. Setsuki, what the hell happened? And where's that bastard Daisuke? And bean sprout?"<br>"Um. Well, we got knocked out.. then when I woke up we were in these cells and you were dying.. so I saved you then Gai-sensei, Ten-chan and Neji-kun saved us!" I exclaimed.  
>"So.. everyone else is okay?"<br>"Yeah! Well, Lee-san has wounds on his stomach and back, but they're healing!"  
>"Right.. are you or Daisuke injured?" I shook my head. Susumu rolled his eyes. "Figures.."<br>"Are y-"  
>"AME-NEECHAAANN!" I flinched and went to turn, when I was suddenly tackled to the ground. Susumu immediately frowned. It was Naruto.<br>"Naruto-kun!"  
>"So listen, Ero-sennin is taking me training for a few years! I'm gonna become really strong, dattebayo!"<br>"Jiraiya? Really!? Can I come?!" I question. Naruto's expression seemed to light up.  
>"Sur-"<br>"Nope." Susumu butted in, folding his arms. We both look up at him with questioning stares. He gave us an envious expression. "Setsuki has to stay here.. we have our own training to do." Naruto stood up and helped me up too.  
>"But Ame's my friend! Why can't she come!?" Naruto questioned.<br>"Setsuki's _my_ teammate..." Susumu mentioned. They seemed to have sparks between their eyes. I saw a green figure in the corner of my eye and immediately turn to it. It was only a leaf blowing in the wind. I felt slightly disappointed... I don't know why. I turn back to Naruto.  
>"When are you leaving?" I asked.<br>"In an hour!"  
>"AN HOUR?! I wont get to see you again for a few years! We have to at least have some ramen together!" I exclaimed. I grabbed Susumu and threw him over my shoulder.<br>"W-HEY!"  
>"We'll take Susumu-kun with us!" I exclaimed. Naruto nodded. We both ran off to Ichirakus, Susumu thrashed around on the way.<p>

After we had our fill, Jiraiya came and found Naruto and we stood at the gate waving goodbye. Susumu and I turn to each other, then decide to go and find Daisuke. We ended up going to his house, and his mum answered the door, and told us he was still sleeping.  
>Susumu and I stood over Daisuke's bed, Daisuke was spread out, his mouth hanging wide open, and snoring loudly. We were silent, as if thinking of what to do to him. Suddenly Daisuke rolled over wrapping his arms and legs around a long pillow and started muttering my name with a stupid grin. I sweatdrop. Susumu frowned at him. I walked up to Daisuke and poked his bare shoulder.<br>"Wait, Setsuki." Susumu whispered. Daisuke didn't react at all. I look at Susumu curiously. "The bastard might be naked." He mentioned, noting Daisuke's shirtless self.  
>"No he's not." I pointed to a small portion of his boxers sticking out under the messed up blanket.<br>"Oh..." Susumu walked over to Daisuke's cupboard, opened it, and frowned at the sight. All his clothes had been replaced with Gai-sensei's suits, and leg warmers!  
>"... Am I dreaming?" Susumu growled.<br>"It's Daisuke-kun's new fashion." I mentioned. Susumu bashed his head against the wall.  
>I turn back to Daisuke and poke him again. And again. And again. Still no reaction.<br>Susumu kept exploring Daisuke's room like a kid in a candy store. I gave up poking. I stepped onto his bed and plopped down, sitting on him. Daisuke jumped and coughed and nearly screamed. I kept sitting on him.  
>"Morning Daisuke-kun!" I chimed. Daisuke blinked a few times.<br>"Set... suki?" He croaked. He stared at me for a few seconds. He suddenly screamed, pushed me off and pulled the blanket up over his chest. I sat on him again. It was fun. "W-What're you doing here?!"  
>"We came to wake you up, sleepyhead!" I replied.<br>"We?" Daisuke looked down and saw Susumu. "Oh... Oh! You're finally awake are you?"  
>"Yeah.." Susumu replied.<br>"... Setsuki.. I appreciate this and all.. but you're kinda crushing me..."  
>"Good!"<br>"G-Good?"  
>"It can be considered training! Lee-san and I sit on each other and do push ups! Gai-sensei says it's good for building up biceps!" I flex my arms to boast.<br>"Please, Setsuki. Allow me." Susumu butted in, flexing his own arm, showing big muscles I never noticed before.  
>"Pah! I can do better!" Daisuke suddenly sat up, causing me to roll off him and land on the floor. He flexed his arms, showing slightly bigger muscles than Susumu. He then blinked. "WAAH! Setsuki-chan! I'm sorry!" He grabbed my foot and pulled me back up onto the bed and cradled me in his arms. It was weird. "I didn't mean to push you off I-"<br>"I know." I said. He hugged me tightly, I couldn't breathe.  
>"Get a room.. honestly." Susumu grumbled.<br>"We have a room! …Wait... Setsuki's.. in my bed.. with me.." Daisuke blushed heavily.  
>I showed a blank expression. "Shut up Daisuke." Susumu huffed. "Stop trying to molest the poor girl. Clearly she doesn't like you."<br>"Susumu! Shut up! Suki-chwan loves me!" Daisuke petted my head. "Right, Suki-chan?"  
>I smile at him. "Sure!" He blinked.<br>"Wait.. you do? Really?!" Daisuke smiled like the happiest person in the world. Even Susumu looked surprised.  
>I smiled and hugged back. "You're such a great friend, Daisuke-kun! How could I not love you?"<br>Daisuke looked crushed, but quickly covered it up and petted my back. Susumu chuckled to himself.  
>"Y-you too, Setsuki." Daisuke replied.<br>Susumu muttered something like "friend-zoned~" under his breath, but I paid no attention. "Oi, lover boy."  
>"Don't call me that!" Daisuke glared at Susumu.<br>"Sorry Romeo. Get some clothes on."  
>Daisuke frowned. "No. You're not my mum. You can't tell me what to do."<br>Suddenly, Daisuke's mum came into the room. "Oh, Daisuke dear, please get dressed so you can go and play with your friends! And don't forget to make your bed." She chimed and left room. Daisuke frowned at Susumu's smug expression.  
>"Hurry up Daisuke <em>honey<em>." Susumu grinned. I stood up and dragged Susumu out of the room to give Daisuke some privacy.

Susumu glared at Daisuke's outfit. "It's comfortable. So shut up." Daisuke groaned at him.  
>"It's ugly, that's what it is.."<br>"COMFY!" I shouted.  
>"... Right.. so what of Komaru-sensei?"<br>"We... couldn't find him.." Daisuke said. Susumu clenched his fists.  
>"... I see.."<br>I put my hand on Susumu's shoulder. "It's okay though. We're gonna find him.. Sooner or later! He's alive, you just gotta be strong and believe!"  
>They both turn to me. "Yeah, she's right. Head up, Susumu." Daisuke said. Susumu gave a slight nod. Daisuke yawned loudly.<br>"We ought to get ourselves stronger. Lets go train ourselves. We haven't trained together for a long time." Susumu mentioned.  
>I was about to say something when; "Excellent idea Susumu-kun!" Lee's voice came, making the three of us jump. I grinned stupidly the moment I saw his face, but I didn't realise it.<br>"Lee-san!" I chimed. Lee smiled at me.  
>"What're you doing out of hospital, <em>again<em>?!" Daisuke questioned. Lee quickly turned to Daisuke and put a thumbs up to his face.  
>"I am completely healed!" He exclaimed.<br>"You said that yesterday." I mentioned. Lee stepped away from me, protecting his stomach from me.  
>"But today, I am definitely fine! The doctor said I could leave!" Lee announced. He then stared at our doubtful expressions and laughed nervously.<br>"You're going to make it worse if you keep lying about it." Daisuke said. "Go back to the hospital."  
>"No! I will stay with Setsuki-san and train!" Lee stated, standing by my side, still protecting his stomach. I petted his back, he tensed slightly and his eyes widened like he had forgotten about it. I smirk at him. Lee quickly turned out of my reach.<br>"Okay! Lee-san's all better! Lets go train together!" I said. Lee smiled. Daisuke was glaring daggers at Lee.  
>"Setsuki-sa-chan.. chan.. Setsuki-chan!" Lee stuttered, attempting to get my attention. I face him. He blinked away his red cheeks. "We must race! It will decide our tie-breaker match! I counted yesterday, we are 20-20!"<br>I gave a challenging smirk. "19-21 You mean. _I_ won that last challenge, remember?"  
>Lee shook his head indefinitely. "No no, I did! I lasted longer on the ice!"<br>"Nooope! I did!" I retort. There was a moment of silence, before suddenly Lee and I bashed our foreheads together, glaring into each other's eyes competitively.  
>"Fine! This race will put me one point closer to victory!" Lee exclaimed.<br>"Nope! It will put _me_ one point _further_ ahead!" I said.  
>"I will win for sure!"<br>"No way!"  
>"Yes!"<br>"No!"  
>"GO!" Susumu shouted. We suddenly stood up straight, scared of the sudden shout. We then blinked and gave each other surprised looks when we realised what he said.<br>"YOSH!" Both Lee and I sprinted off as fast as we could towards the closest training vicinity. Lee was ahead of me at first, and for quite some time, but as soon as we got to the last few meters I pushed my legs way beyond their limits and caught up with him, running right beside him, but I tripped and fell over, making Lee the victor. Lee laughed in pleasure of winning, then held his hand out for me. I smile and took his hand and he pulled me to my feet. We both were panting pretty hard. My legs felt numb and shaky, I leaned on Lee for support.  
>"Heee~ I won!" Lee boasted.<br>"Heh.. I'll.. win.. next.. time.." I panted. Lee gave me a thumbs up.  
>"I am sure you will! Setsuki-chan!"<br>I smiled, feeling really happy. Finally Daisuke and Susumu came running along and caught up with us. "Jeez, one second you're there, the next you're 10 miles away." Susumu complained.  
>"Yup!" Lee concurred, pointing his thumb at Susumu. "That is the power of youth!" Lee smirked, his teeth glistened. I stared in fascination. Lee caught me staring and just smiled softly. I look away quickly, my cheeks burned up. Daisuke also noticed and folded his arms.<p>

The four of us trained in a four-way spar, fighting each other, testing each other skills, bringing each other outside of our comfort zones.  
>It took a few hours, but Susumu and Daisuke eventually collapsed from exhaustion, so it was just Lee and I. We stared each other down, covered in scratches, bruises and cuts, panting heavily.<br>"I shall.. win again.. Setsuki-chan!" Lee exclaimed. If he were to win this short little match, our challenges will become tied. I wasn't about to let that happen. I think we were both at our limits..  
>"Nope! I will win..!" I replied. We both flashed a smile at each other than ran at each other. The victor would be decided depending on whose punch landed first.<p> 


	63. Chapter 63

21-21. That was the sound I woke to, I passed out before I could even get to Lee. My eyes flickered opened, I was still exhausted. I was being carried. I looked up, and I saw Lee's face. Was he carrying me? I coughed in an attempt to clear my throat, unintentionally gaining Lee's attention. He grinned at me.  
>"Setsuki-chan! You are finally awake!"<br>I rub my eyes. "Lee-san.. who won?" I ask, my memory temporarily a blur.  
>"Me!" He giggled. I frowned. "21-21! We are now tied! Next time I definitely will not lose! I will win without failure!"<br>"No, I will win!" I retorted. Lee gave a smug expression and looked back at the road ahead.  
>"I guess you are probably right." He said in a soft tone. I blinked. "In that case, I must train myself harder! I know! We both must compete on who becomes Chuunin first!"<br>Now that was an idea. "There's Chuunin exams every year right?"  
>Lee nodded. "Right!"<br>"Lets re-enter this year!"  
>Lee flashed a smile. "We will need to talk to our senseis about it though.." He mentioned. He had a point.<br>"Well... maybe Gai-sensei can be _our_ sensei for this year?" I suggested.  
>"Yeah! I am sure Gai-sensei would love that!" Lee agreed.<p>

"Hahaha, I appreciate the thought, Setsuki." Gai-sensei chuckled. "AND OF COURSE I WILL ACCEPT!" Gai-sensei abruptly group hugged Lee and I really tightly.  
>"No. I refuse." Susumu said. Both he and Daisuke woke later on and found us with Gai then we asked.<br>"C'mon Susumu. It... _should_ be fun!" Daisuke said. Suddenly Gai-sensei pulled Daisuke and Susumu into the group hug as well, squashing us all together.  
>"That's the spirit!" Gai-sensei chimed.<br>"Gai-sensei!" Lee whined. "You are so kind! It is simply inspirational!" Lee cried. My lip quivered.  
>"H-He's right!" I started to cry myself. "You are such a great man, Gai-sensei!" I cried. Gai-sensei started to shed tears. Lee and I hugged Gai-sensei even tighter! Daisuke and Susumu escaped the grip and frowned at us.<br>"You guys... are the greatest students I could ever ask for!" Gai-sensei cried, we all tightened our grip on each other and cried together. A big gust of wind blew through, throwing dirt around.  
>"Aww are you crying Daisuke <em>honey<em>?" Susumu scoffed, rubbing his eyes. Daisuke had tears running down his cheeks, rubbing his eyes also.  
>"N-No! Shut it bastard! I have dirt in my eyes!" Daisuke gushed. "What's wrong with you, <em>princess<em>!?"  
>"There's dirt in my eyes!" Susumu gushed back. The two of them sobbed quietly.<br>Someone approached us. He was a Jonin, and he was rather chubby with shaggy brown hair. He gave us a blank expression. "Huh..? Hey what's the matter with everyone?" He spoke in a deep voice.  
>We all stop and turn to him, then we all look at Gai-sensei with demanding expressions, wanting to know who this guy was. Gai showed a blank expression towards us then faced he guy with his hands on his hips.<br>"Who are you?" Gai-sensei asked.  
>"Oh, sorry, I'm Tekuno. Kanden Tekuno. You're all ninjas I see." He replied. He seemed really friendly.<br>"Yeah! We're really strong too!" I exclaimed.  
>"Is that right? Well maybe you can help me!" Tekuno said.<br>"With what?" Daisuke asked, rubbing his eyes still.  
>"I'm looking for a certain three Genin. I was assigned to look after them, since their current squad leader is away, but I completely forgot and got assigned another mission in the mean time.." Tekuno scratched the back of his head while nervously laughing.<br>"Yosh! We can search together!" I exclaim.  
>"I will help!" Lee announced. Tekuno smiled and chuckled.<br>"Thank you guys. I really appreciate it."  
>So Daisuke, Susumu, Lee and I all went searching for the Genin he was looking for.<p>

We checked with Choji, Shikamaru and Ino. Asuma-sensei was still there. Then we proceeded onto Sakura-chan, Kakashi was away on a mission, but Sakura-chan was being trained by Tsunade. We then checked on Shino, Hinata and Kiba. Kurenai-sensei was still there. All of this took most of the day, it was now sunset.  
>We turn to Lee, but then we knew Gai-sensei was still here too. "Which squad have we missed?" Daisuke asked.<br>We look at Tekuno. "What were the names of the Genin?" Susumu asked.  
>"Um.. Well blimey I can't remember!" Tekuno scratched his stomach. "Maybe if I had a bite to eat.." He mumbled.<br>"RAMEN!" I shouted.  
>"Ramen! Now that sounds satisfying! Lets go, my shout! You four have done a great job trying to help." Tekuno said. I grin smugly. Lee gave a challenging smirk.<br>"... Oh boy.." Susumu grumbled. Lee and I raced off into the distance.

"I won! I did it! I won! Three times in a row!" Lee sang, jumping up and down. I frowned, pouting with my arms folded.  
>Finally Tekuno and the others came running along. They all seemed out of breath. Ichirakus wasn't even that far from where we were before. We sat down and wolfed down plenty of bowls. Tekuno wiped his mouth on a napkin and stacked up all the bowls and paid Teuchi. We all look at Tekuno expectantly.<br>"So.. remember anything?"  
>"Another bowl please!" I shouted over the top of Susumu.<br>"Coming right up." Teuchi replied.  
>".. Then I will have another bowl too, please!" Lee shouted.<br>"Coming right up!" Teuchi called back.  
>Lee and I grinned at each other.<br>"Yeah.. alright I'll have another 5." Tekuno said. We stared at him.  
>"Coming right up!" Teuchi called again.<br>Half way through eating, Tekuno lifted his head like he just remembered something. "I remember now! It was written on a slip of paper.. now where is it?" He searched through his jacket, every pocket and zip. Until he finally found a scrunched up piece of paper. He flattened it out on the bench, we all looked at it, leaning over it. We all fell to the ground after realizing.. it was us. Tekuno laughed nervously. "So it was you guys.. hahah... I guess that makes things easier..!"  
>"Seriously, you made us spend <em>all<em> this time and-"  
>"Shut up Daisuke. You got a free meal, be thankful for once." Susumu grumbled.<br>"Ahaha, don't fight! He has every reason to be mad I guess." Tekuno said, putting his hand on Daisuke's head, and rubbing his hair. Daisuke blinked in confusion.  
>"So we get to call you Tekuno-sensei?" I asked.<br>"Ahah, well sure! Call me whatever you like." Tekuno said, laughing gleefully.  
>"Then, Teku-sensei, can you help us?" I asked, giving him a nickname already.<br>He smiled at me softly. "Sure. You helped me, I can help you."  
>Daisuke and Susumu look at me curiously. "Can you train us? Like, train us really strong?!"<br>"Huh? Uh, well I don't see why not! You almost sounded like you were preparing for something..?"  
>"Yeah! We wanna reenter the Chuunin exams this year!" I exclaimed. Daisuke and Susumu blinked.<br>"Chuunin exams? Huh.. I wonder if it'll be as chaotic as last year.." Daisuke mentioned.  
>Lee suddenly shot up behind me, folded his arms on top of my head and leaned down, pushing me down to almost face-plant on the ground, and he stared Tekuno in the eye.<br>"Wah!"  
>"Tekuno-kun! Please note that no matter how hard you train Setsuki-chan, I, Rock Lee, Konoha's Handsome Devil, will <em>always<em> be there to rival her capabilities! I will always proceed to win against her! I will never lose a fight against h-"  
>I stood up, causing Lee to fall backwards, once he landed on the ground, I pointed at him. "Wrong! Lee-san!" I look at Tekuno. "I, Kuromizu Setsuki, Konoha's Blue Freak, will<em> always<em> continue to defeat Lee-san and-"  
>Lee stood up, swiftly lifting me off my feet, and hanging me over his shoulder. My eyes widened at the sudden movement. "Setsuki-chan! I do not approve of that title!"<br>"I came up with it myself!" I exclaimed.  
>"I do not like it!"<br>"I do!"  
>"I do not! <em>I <em>will decide on a title for you!"  
>"Like what, then?" I asked. I almost slid down off Lee, until he grabbed my leg with one hand, his shoulder was poking right into my gut. He had such a tough shoulder, so firm..<br>With his other hand, Lee put his finger to his chin in thought.  
>"Put me down!"<br>"Nope!"  
>"Lee-san!"<br>"Nope!"  
>I whined to myself. Then Daisuke stood intimidatingly in front of Lee, who didn't seem to take any notice. "She said put her down! Put her down!"<br>"AHA!" Lee shouted abruptly. "I have thought of a title!" Lee suddenly dropped me, then picked me up and stood me directly in front of him, so we were looking straight into each other's eyes. Daisuke almost chocked. I was covered in dirt now. For some reason, Lee's eyes seemed a lot more.. intriguing than before. We locked eye contact. Lee still had his hands on my shoulders.  
>I quickly blinked away all my thoughts, but continued staring into his, big, dark but cheery eyes. "What is it?" I asked.<br>"_Setsuki_, Konoha's Majestic Dewdrop!" He said with a huge grin. My eyes widened, and I felt my cheeks get hot. It sounded... amazing!  
>"Dewdrop?" Daisuke grumbled. Lee smirked and turned to Daisuke, almost challengingly.<br>"Setsuki-chan is a magnificent water user! Dewdrop is the perfect name! I.. I truly believe that!" Lee exclaimed.  
>Tekuno chuckled behind us in amusement. I scratch my cheek feeling a little shy for some reason. Lee turned to me again. "With no objections, I officially title you, Konoha's Majestic Dewdrop!"<br>I stared into his eyes again. Lee smiled somewhat gently. His eyes sparkled in the orange light of the lanterns hanging outside the shop. My stomach felt weird, it was tingling.  
>"Well seems that's settled." Tekuno laughed, he then stood up. "Do you two have <em>titles<em> as well?" He asked Daisuke and Susumu, who both shook their heads.  
>"No and I don't need one.." Susumu replied.<br>"... I could call myself the most handsome guy in the village though." Daisuke grinned. Susumu hit him over the head.  
>"Yeah right! You're the ugliest person I've ever seen!"<br>"Hey! You're not much better looking yourself, pineapple head!"  
>"What'd you just call me, Daisuke <em>honey<em>?!"  
>"Oh I see!" Tekuno interrupted them. He pointed at Susumu. "Pineapple, and.." he moved his finger to Daisuke. "Honey." he chuckled in amusement. Susumu and Daisuke lunged at Tekuno aggressively. Lee and I started to laugh. Suddenly, Daisuke and Susumu both went flying backwards. Tekuno stood unharmed. Their eyes widened. "And you two, I'll refer to you as Leek and.." He shifted his pointing finger from Lee to me. "Blueberry."<br>"Leek?"  
>"Blueberry?"<br>Lee and I give him blank expressions.  
>"What the hells with the food names?!" Daisuke questioned.<br>Tekuno started to laugh. "Well I just love food! So I'm naming you after foods that match your hair! Easier to remember your names that way... except you Lee, I based it off your clothes."  
>"You're gonna remember us with food?" Daisuke asked, unimpressed.<br>"Yay! Blueberry!" I chimed. Lee turned to Tekuno with an expression that looked like he had just come up with an entire contradiction to the nickname Leek.  
>"I am no Leek! If I were to be a food, I would be-"<br>"A celery stick." Daisuke snickered. Lee frowned, unimpressed about being cut off.  
>"No. Daisuke-kun. I would be a salad!" Lee exclaimed.<br>"A salad.. that's not a food, it's a combination of-"  
>Lee interrupted Susumu. "I am a unique combination of different flavours! All aspects about me are delicious, and also healthy!" Lee raised a finger as if proving a point. "With my presence, anyone, man or woman can stay youthful and healthy forever!"<br>Tekuno was surprised to see Lee had put in so much thought into it.  
>"Therefore, I shall be known as <em>Salad<em>!" Lee exclaimed, putting his hands on his hips just like Gai-sensei, then gave himself a nod of approval.  
>"Uh ahaha, okay okay, Salad it is then." Tekuno said. Lee smiled at turned back to me.<br>"Teku-sensei!" I shouted, gaining his attention. "If we all get to be food, then why don't we call you a food as well?"  
>Tekuno blinked. "Well, I don't see why not! But what food resembles me?"<br>We all face each other in thought. "Beef!" We all said at once.  
>"Beef?"<br>"Beef! You're big and tough like a piece of steak!" I said.  
>"Big?" Tekuno whined.<br>"And tough!" I added. Daisuke, Susumu and Lee nodded in agreement.  
>"Well.. if that's what you think, then sure!" Tekuno smiled. "Well since it's starting to get late, lets all go home and get a good rest. And we'll meet up here in the morning!"<br>We all nodded in agreement, then suddenly both Lee and Daisuke got in my face with fire in their eyes. They spoke at the same time, saying the exact same thing. "Setsuki-chan, allow me to walk you home!"  
>I blinked. They faced each other with a glare. "I asked first!" Daisuke growled.<br>"No I did!" Lee shouted. They both smashed their foreheads together, growling at each other. I don't think I've ever really seen Lee angry before. Susumu walked up behind me and tapped me on the arm. I face him.  
>"Come on." He said. I nodded and followed him. Susumu walked home with me. I said goodbye and went inside.<br>Lee and Daisuke never noticed I left with Susumu, they kept arguing until they stormed away from each other to go home.


	64. Chapter 64

Half the year passed right before our eyes. Beef-sensei.. er I mean, Tekuno-sensei was really nice to the three of us and treated us to ramen after every training session. We ended up bringing Tekuno-sensei into our training and he lost a fair bit of weight! Our physical strength had increased and so did our stamina. We learned how to use bigger weapons and can carry heavy things with a lot more ease.  
>It was finally the day we'd been waiting for. The first day of the Chuunin exams. It was a lot like last time, we had a written examination. I think nearly everyone who failed last time has reentered, but also way more new faces. Ibiki was the proctor again and tried his same old "If you think you haven't achieved a high enough score, then leave and come back next year. If you haven't got enough points you will be forever forbidden to enter the Chuunin exams again." Trick, but some of us already knew the drill. I was seated beside Ino and passed the first round no problem. The second phase, three days later, was a little different than last time. We still had to go to the forest of death, but it didn't seem as hard as last time. Especially without any trouble from Orochimaru and Sunagakure. Except this time we had small, fragile vials of water without a lid. We had to collect 3 and head to the center without spilling any of the random coloured substance inside. It was tricky. Each team was given only one to begin with. We fought against at least 5 different squads because Daisuke kept spilling the substance. Once we obtained all 3 we raced for the centre, Susumu knew the way so we let him lead.<p>

Inside we had preliminary matches much like last time. Daisuke won his match against Kiba, Susumu lost his match against Tenten by forfeiting, not wanting to harm her, and I won my match against Neji who was still as brutal as ever. Although he condemned me for putting up a good fight, because by the end of it we were both out of breath. I was actually surprised I managed to win.

A month later we had the finals. Tekuno-sensei took us on a training hike up in the mountains, saying that mountain climbing would help us prepare. We stayed on the top of the mountain for the entire month but kept complaining because there wasn't enough food. We headed back at the end of the month, arriving back in Konoha two days prior to the exams.

On that day I unpacked my backpack, putting my sleeping bag away and throwing my clothes in the wash. Takashi was annoyed at the fact that I didn't eat much, so he basically force fed me everything in the cupboards, and I didn't complain. It was late in the evening, so I decided to go to bed early for once in my life.

The next morning I got up, Takashi cooked me a piece of toast which I took with me to go meet up with everyone at our usual training spot. It almost felt strange to be back in society. I ran down the street, not really paying attention to the things in front of me, because in the mountains I could run anywhere and not worry about anything being in my way.  
>Suddenly I collided directly into someone and we both fell backwards after the hard impact. I rubbed my shoulder, snapped my eyes open to see if the person was okay, then grinned when I realized it was Lee.<br>I stood up and smirked down at him. "Lee-san!"  
>"Oww.. huh!? Setsuki-chan!?" Lee's eyes widened and the biggest smile came across his face. He jumped up and hugged me really tightly, I hugged back. I didn't realize just how much I missed him until just now. "Where have you been?! I have not seen you in ages!"<br>"I've been training in the mountains with Beefy-sensei!" I exclaimed.  
>"Oh! You did not tell me that! I was upset because I did not know where you were!"<br>"Yeah I- wait.. upset?" I tilted my head. Lee's eyes widened slightly and he looked away scratching his cheek for a second before looking back at me.  
>"U-uhh.. I-I meant disappointed! Yes! Disappointed! I was disappointed because I did not get to train with you!" He said in a somewhat panicked tone.<br>I blinked. "Oh.. well, we should train today! The finals are tomorrow and I have to make sure my skills are as sharp as ever!" I exclaim.  
>"Oh! I remember, you are in the finals too! Maybe we will be up against each other, Setsuki-chan!"<br>I just remembered Lee had also won his fight against a Sunagakure ninja. "Right! Of course! If we are- then I will win for sure!" I exclaimed. Lee quickly took my hand and lowered it, then put other hand in front of me, his finger poked my nose.  
>"No! Setsuki-chan! I will win! I have been training really hard! I believe I can defeat you!"<br>I smiled. I didn't even feel like arguing. I just smiled. I looked away smiling to myself. Lee tilted his head, he still had hold of my hand. I turned my hand around in his grip and held his hand at the same time. Lee tensed slightly. "Yeah, maybe. We'll see." I said, facing away with my eyes closed. It seemed Lee had turned speechless, when I looked at him again he was staring at our hands with slight red cheeks. I felt my cheeks warm up. I stared at him. It was almost like my eyes were attracted to his face. My stomach felt all tingly again. I hope I wasn't getting sick.. especially at this time, right before the finals.  
>Lee gripped my hand and faced me, we made eye contact. A drop of sweat fell from his forehead, down his cheek until it fell and landed on the ground. "S-Setsuki-chan.."<br>"Yes.. Lee-san?"  
>He went quiet. He shut his mouth. His cheeks got redder and redder. "... D-Do not worry.. it is nothing..." Lee quickly looked away, like he was disappointed in himself. I didn't understand, but I didn't pry. I just smiled at him and tugged on his hand.<br>"Lets go get some ramen! We should eat before we start training!" I mentioned. Lee smiled a little and nodded.  
>"Yes, brilliant idea Setsuki-chan!"<p>

We walked to Ichirakus, hand in hand. Yes.. walked.. for the first time ever. It was peaceful. I really enjoyed it. I don't know why, but I didn't ever want to let go of his hand. But I did, I let go as soon as we got there.

We had a few bowls each, until we became full. But then I looked over at Lee and he had the last bit of chicken in his chopsticks, heading straight for his mouth. I stared, my mouth craved chicken. Lee glimpsed at me, then at the chicken, and back at me. I avoided eye contact. I just wanted the chicken. Suddenly the chicken was headed straight for me. I blinked a couple of times, leaving my zoned out world. Lee smiled at me, holding the chicken inches from my mouth.  
>"Do you.. want it, Setsuki-chan?"<br>I smiled, then grabbed the chicken between my teeth. Lee gave a gentle smile as I ate his chicken. Lee piled his bowls up and mine, then paid for the both of us, which made me flinch. I grabbed his wrist just before he gave Teuchi the money.  
>"Lee-san you don't have to-"<br>"Setsuki-chan! It is fine, I insist!" Lee stared into my eyes until I let go of his wrist. He gave Teuchi the money and stood up. I looked up at him, and he beckoned me with his hand, so I stood up too. Lee pulled on my ear then ran off ahead. I rubbed my ear and laughed, then followed after him.  
>"L-Lee-san! Wait up!" I shouted out, but Lee only turned his head back, flashing a smile, then kept running. I started to laugh, I was really having fun!<br>I followed him all the way out to some grassy fields, where he purposely slipped over, curled into a ball and rolled a few metres before coming to a stop. He then fell backwards and spread out on the grass, panting slightly with a wide smile. I laughed at the sight. He was so goofy. I jogged over to him, slid on my knees up to him and fell forwards, laying sideways on top of him. Lee started to laugh with me. I rested my cheek comfortably on the soft grass with a smile nothing could erase.  
>"Setsuki-san."<br>"Yes?"  
>Lee grabbed my leg, I got suspicious. Lee lifted it, then sat up, I attempted to roll away, but he didn't let me. I stared at him with a blank expression. He had a smug look. Was he.. testing me? I tried to get my leg back, but he held it up with one arm, his hand gripped tightly.<br>"What're you up to?" I ask. He only breathed out a laugh.  
>"You cannot escape!"<br>"Yeah I can!" I tried pulling my leg back, I couldn't. He smirked at my fail. Each time I failed, his smirk grew wider. Suddenly I pulled it back with a bigger force than before, causing him to fall forward, I grab his shoulders and quickly twist him around and sat on him, pinning him down. "Told ya!"  
>Lee seemed a little surprised, but he quickly smiled. "You have me trapped so I cannot move. I think you may have won, Setsuki-chan." He said. I blinked. It wasn't like Lee to seem so submissive. Perhaps he just wanted to take it easy and muck around for once, because that's sort of how I felt.<br>I tilted my head and smiled down at him, the wind blew our hair gently. He stared up at me. "Lee-san."  
>"Yes?"<br>I leaned down and rested my head on his chest, he tensed slightly. "Good luck tomorrow."  
>"U-uh, thanks.. Setsuki-chan. You too!" Lee's hand found it's way to my hair, his fingers softly tangled the strands. I could hear his heartbeat, it was racing.<br>"... Are you alright, Lee-san?"  
>"Y-yes! Of course! Why would I not be?"<br>"Your heart... is-is racing! Are you scared?"  
>"Scared...?" Lee's heart got even faster. I lifted my head and looked down into his eyes.<br>"... Is tomorrow making you nervous?" I asked, concerned. I remember what happened last time.. against Gaara. Was he scared of it happening again? Lee shook his head quickly.  
>"No! No of course not!" Lee sat up, making me sit on his lap. I put my hand on his chest, feeling every beat.<br>"Then why...?"  
>Lee averted his head from me, and looked down at the grass. "I... I do not know.. I cannot answer that." Another gust of wind blew through. I felt my own heart starting to speed up. I wanted to talk to someone about how I was feeling. I look at Lee's face again, he was focused on a blade of grass, blowing helplessly in the wind.<br>I cleared my throat and look away again. Lee was right there, I could tell him. But for some reason, I kind of felt like Lee would laugh at me. I should tell someone else.  
>"S.. Setsuki-chan." I looked at him again. "I.. I know this might sound a little.. weird to you.. but I wanted to ask someone who would not laugh at me.."<br>".. What is it?" I asked, now very interested. His eyes lowered.  
>"Do.. do you think I.. will ever find.. love?" He slowly brought his eyes back to meet mine.<br>"Love?" I blinked a few times. Lee gave the slightest nod, his expression showed fear of my answer.  
>"Well.. of course! Everyone will find love..!" I exclaimed, flashing a smile. Lee seemed unconvinced. "Is everything okay?"<br>"I just.. I do not know.. I tried to say this to Gai-sensei.. but he only laughed at me.."  
>"Laughed..? Why?" I was concerned now. Lee seemed like he was trembling. He lowered his eyes.<br>"Can.. I tell you how I really feel?"  
>"Of course.." I put my arm around his shoulders to reassure him. "Lee-san.. you can tell me anything."<br>The corner of his lips twitched a smile, he lowered his head, it was leaning against mine, he was facing down, so I couldn't see his face. "I.. don't know how to say it.. but.. I feel that.. I will never find love.."  
>My voice was now soft and gentle. "What makes you say that?"<br>"... I know.. everyone is nice.. and they mean well.. but deep down I do not think they like me.. like I am someone.. out of their league.. I did have strong feelings for Sakura-chan... but she will never return the feelings.. when we first met, Sakura-chan told me I... was hideous..." Lee started to tremble a little more noticeably, like he was fighting emotions. "It was at that moment.. I understood... she would never accept me because of the way I.. looked.. Gai-sensei told me.. I must not give up... but in the end all my efforts were pointless.. Sakura-chan will never return my feelings... and often.. I overhear people.. saying how obnoxious Gai-sensei and I are.. how our appearances are appalling.. and the fact that I can only do Taijutsu.. holds me back from every else.. so... deep down.." Lee was starting to take big, shaky breaths. I didn't notice it, but I had tears running down my cheeks. "I... I feel.. that I will never truly be.. accepted.. by anyone..." Another pause, another gust of wind.  
>Lee didn't move, or say anything, but he was still trembling, his body was shaking. Slowly, I put my other arm around his shoulders, and pull him into a really tight hug. Without saying a word. I held him tight, I wasn't going to let go. I was really shocked to hear, that this is how he really felt deep down. I could understand that Gai-sensei probably would not listen to something like this, especially coming from Lee.<br>When the wind finally stopped. I spoke, almost like a whisper. "I accept you.. Lee-san.. I accept you." Lee tensed completely. "I... know you don't think it's true.. but.. to be honest I.. I.." I hugged tighter. "I really.. really.. like you.."  
>Lee froze, he stopped shaking, he held his breath. He lifted his head, I leaned back and saw his face covered in tears, his eyes were wide as wide could be. "Y.. you do?"<br>I nodded slightly, then used my thumb to wipe tears from beneath his eyes. "Everyone has their disadvantages.. you can't do Genjutsu or Ninjutsu.. I can't do Genjutsu.. Naruto-kun... was much like you too.. he couldn't do simple techniques either, but- none of that matters. None. What really matters... is you who are.. not what you can or can't do.. that's my belief.." I smiled at him sadly, his eyes shed more tears, but he kept the same shocked expression. I smiled a little more as I brushed my thumb across his eyebrow. "Besides... I think your eyebrows are cute.."  
>Lee almost flinched. His cheeks turned red. A dark red. "C-Cute?"<br>I nodded smiling. I ignored the tingly feeling in my stomach, I ignored my racing heart. Lee quickly wiped his eyes on his arm, then suddenly wrapped his arms around me very tightly, and buried his face in my shoulder, whining my name. I leaned my head on his and rubbed his back.  
>Love.. I wonder what that felt like...<p> 


	65. Chapter 65

Late that evening Lee and I concluded our 'training', and stopped by to get an ice cream each on the way home. I ate mine a little too fast, but by now brain freezes were barely noticeable for me. Lee was half way through his, enjoying every bite.  
>We saw Neji and Tenten walking, looking around. Gai-sensei was following a few metres behind, calling Lee's name over and over. Lee and I glimpse at each other, then approach them.<br>"Lee! There you are!" Tenten exclaimed. Gai-sensei walked over and looked between the two of us.  
>"Setsuki! You're back! Lee! You never showed up to training! You better have a good excuse!"<br>"U-uhh.. S-Sorry Gai-sensei! I was on my way to training this morning, but I bumped into Setsuki-chan and.. got distracted! I am sorry! I will run 500 laps around the village as punishment!" Lee exclaimed.  
>Suddenly Gai-sensei pointed his ice cream. "What are you eating?! Unhealthy food is not youthful!"<br>Lee seemed to panic. "I-I uh-"  
>"It's mine!" I exclaimed, taking it from Lee's hand. They all looked at me oddly, including Lee who was suspicious. "I.. I asked Lee-san to hold it while I adjusted my shoe, but forgot to take it back!" I laughed nervously.<br>Gai-sensei seemed to believe me though. Lee breathed a sigh of relief. He whispered a thank you as Gai-sensei turned away, and I gave Lee a thumbs up. I almost wanted to eat his ice cream too, it was starting to melt, considering the weather was so hot. Tenten snuck up behind me and pushed my back making me jump. My eyes were wide at the ice cream because I nearly dropped it.  
>"Hey girl! Haven't seen you in a long time!" She wrapped her arms around my shoulders. She was still short..<br>"U-uh yeah!" Then I got the idea of speaking to Tenten about my strange feelings. "Tenten!"  
>"What's up!"<br>Lee looked at me strangely. I went quiet, and muttered in her ear. "I need to talk to you about something.."  
>"Oh? About what?"<br>"Something."  
>"Tell me!"<br>"I can't!" I look at Lee again. He tilted his head at me. I looked at Gai-sensei who was talking to Neji. I then look at the ice cream melting in my hand. Lee scratched the back of his head. Tenten tilted her head confused. Lee and I suddenly look at each other like we had just got the same idea.  
>We face Gai-sensei. "Ready?"<br>"Ready." Lee replied. I handed Lee his ice cream back. Gai-sensei was about to turn around, I ran and jumped at him.  
>"Dynamic Entry!" I kick Gai-sensei's face, not hard enough to send him flying, but enough to knock him over.<br>"Uwah!" He fell. Lee took off, sprinting away. "Setsuki! What is the meanin-"  
>"Sorry Gai-sensei! I slipped!" I exclaimed. Tenten and Neji frowned. Gai-sensei looked around.<br>"Where's Lee?"  
>"... He went to the bathroom!" I lied. Gai-sensei looked into my eyes piercingly. It was creepy.<br>"That boy still has to do his punishment for not turning up to training! He-"  
>"That was my fault!" I exclaimed. "I ran straight into him! Then I.. kinda dragged him away, so we could train together!"<br>".. So you two trained? He did his daily training?"  
>"Yes sir!" I thought I had won this argument.<br>"I think they did a little more than training~" Tenten giggled. We all face her. Neji folded his arms with a huff under his breath.  
>"It's obvious." He nodded.<br>"What is? What?" I asked, I was so confused, looking back and forth between them both. Gai-sensei smirked and rubbed his chin.  
>"I see exactly what is happening." He said. My eyes widened. Had he caught onto the fact that Lee and I didn't actually train!? I bit my lip in nervousness.<br>"See, if Gai-sensei can pick this up, then it's obviously true!" Tenten said. Neji only nodded, closing his eyes.  
>"What's true!?" I asked, more panicked. Gai-sensei stood up and put his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him. Tenten closed in as well. Neji stayed where he was, he's not one for getting close to people.<br>"You can't hide it any longer, Setsuki!" Gai-sensei shouted. I almost whimpered. He's figured it out! There was no use in hiding it.  
>I opened my mouth to speak when Tenten cut me off. "So so how long have you two been together?" Tenten asked in a giggly tone.<br>"S-Since this morning.." I replied in a shaky tone. Gai-sensei made a high pitched laugh in his throat.  
>"Eeee~! Neji, Tenten! You know what this calls for!" Gai-sensei pointed me, I jumped and whimpered.<br>"I-I'M SORRY!" I fell to my hands and knees, and bowed, quivering.  
>"... Eh?" Gai-sensei tilted his head, as did Tenten and Neji.<br>"I DID NOT MEAN TO TAKE LEE-SAN AWAY FROM TRAINING!"  
>There was a moment of silence, I looked up and saw their grinning faces. It was evil. EVIL! …. Until Gai-sensei started laughing.<br>"No Setsuki! You are wrong! You think this is about that?"  
>I blinked a few times. Gai-sensei grabbed my arm and lifted me to my feet. He then proceeded to brush the dirt off me. "Uh.. yeah..? I-I mean, then.. what is it about?" I ask.<br>Tenten and Gai-sensei leaned in really close, both wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "You _like_ Lee, don't you?" Tenten sneered.  
>Gai-sensei copied her expression. "<em>Really<em> _REALLY_ like Lee, right?"  
>I blinked. "Of course." I replied bluntly. They both squealed at the top of their lungs, like they were happy about something. They had tears running down their cheeks.<br>"We knew this day would come!" Gai-sensei announced.  
>I blinked again, confused at their behaviour. "I mean.. Lee-san's my best friend! Of course I like him!"<br>Both Gai-sensei and Tenten paused, frozen on the spot, their huge grins turned upside down. Neji snickered. "You buffoons don't realize, do you?" Neji said, then walked over to me, pointing at me. "She's to naïve to realize those sort of feelings." Neji turned to face them. "Besides, Lee's probably the same about her... If you ask me they really have no idea about this whole ordeal."  
>"Ordeal!? Neji! You are wrong! Youth is the time for blossoming romance to rise up and take the peak of the highest mountain!" Gai-sensei pointed to the sky. "There is nothing horrific about such a perfect concept!"<br>Neji frowned. "I think it's just a waste of time. Even more so, between Setsuki and Lee, nothing will happen. If you haven't already forgotten, Sakura is still in his mind."  
>"What're you all talking about?" I asked, every word they spoke was becoming more and more confusing.<br>"Hum! You are correct, Neji!" Gai-sensei said, as if completely ignoring me. He pointed at Neji. "But Lee will come to his senses very soon. My prediction between these two youths, will surely come true! If there's one thing I'm certain about, it's this!"  
>Neji shook his head. "Well.. it would surprise me if it actually happened.. but then again, knowing the klutz Lee is, he will do something stupid to put them together." Neji shot a tiny smirk in my direction then turned away from us all.<br>"Lee-san's not a klutz!" I exclaimed with a frown, with still no idea of what is going on.  
>"That is right! I am a noble gentleman!" Lee's voice sprung up from no where. He was suddenly standing in front of Neji, who jumped at the sight of him. Lee had a little bit of ice cream around his mouth still.<br>"Lee! What took you so long?!" Gai-sensei questioned. Lee's eyes widened temporarily, then he scratched his head.  
>"I-er, I had a small headache.. but it is gone now!" Lee gave Gai-sensei a thumbs up with a shining smile. He had little bits of ice cream between his teeth too.. I was thinking he ate the ice cream so fast that he got a brain freeze and ran around until it disappeared, forgetting about even wiping his face. Gai-sensei's eyes narrowed at Lee's face. He was going to be found out!<br>I quickly perform five hand signs, then take a deep breath – no one noticed. I shot a large amount of water from my mouth directly at Lee, accidentally pushing him into the nearest building.  
>"UWAAAH!"<br>They all looked at me weirdly, again. I laughed nervously. "My hands slipped.."  
>Gai-sensei totally believed me, but Neji and Tenten rolled their eyes. When I looked at Lee, his face was clean. I mentally sigh of relief.<br>"S-SETSUKI-CHAN! W-WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" Lee shouted in a rather high pitched voice. He had puppy eyes, it was so adorable.  
>"I-I'M SORRY LEE-SAN! MY HANDS SLIPPED!"<br>"OH! … That is okay then!" Lee gave a thumbs up and shining smile to me. The ice cream in his teeth was gone too.  
>"He actually <em>believed<em> that?!" Tenten questioned. Lee faced Tenten.  
>"If that is what Setsuki-chan said, then it is true!" Lee exclaimed. I smiled at Tenten, who glared. "So, uh.. what was it you wanted to talk about, Gai-sensei?"<br>"I was just explaining to Setsuki! She can fill you in, after all, you _do_ understand what I was saying, right?"  
>"No sir, not at all." I replied. Gai-sensei's eye twitched.<br>"HE'S SAYING THAT YOU TWO ARE IN LOVE!" Tenten shouted. Both Lee and I flinched toward her.  
>"L-Love!?" We question in sync.<br>"N-no Tenten!" Lee retorted, scratching the back of his head nervously, his bright red cheeks matching mine. "I-I cannot love Setsuki-chan. She is my friend!"  
>"Yeah! That's right! Lee-san is my friend too! We can't be in love!" I exclaimed. Tenten sneered, grinning.<br>"Yeah yeah, you can't hide it forever!" She chimed.  
>"B-but Tenten! I assure you S-Setsuki-chan and I are only friends!" Lee implied. I nodded indefinitely. "R-Remember, Tenten. I like Sakura-chan!"<br>"Yeah and I like.." I trailed off after I realized I actually don't like anyone in that way! Both Lee and Tenten looked at me eagerly. "I... uh.. no one!"  
>"Don't worry Tenten. They will come around soon enough!" Gai-sensei chuckled, dragging her away, he then muttered something like "Just give them some alone time.." into her ear, she nodded and Neji followed them away.<br>Lee and I face each other. "Do they really think that.. we're.."  
>"I do not know, Setsuki-chan.." Lee replied. "But.. they are wrong!"<br>I nodded, completely agreeing with him, but my stomach felt heavy at his words for some reason. Perhaps I was getting sick. "Yeah. I mean, you still like Sakura-chan right?"  
>Lee nodded hesitantly. "Right.. and you, Setsuki-chan? Do you.. love anyone?"<br>"Me? Uh.. no.." I replied. "I don't really.. understand it all.. love.."  
>"You do not understand love?"<br>I shook my head and put my hands in my pockets. Lee put his hand on my shoulder and smiled.  
>"Then I will teach you!" He replied. I blinked and smiled.<br>"You will?"  
>"Yes! But it is getting late. Let us start this training after the Chuunin Exam finals tomorrow!" He announced. I nodded eagerly.<br>"Okay! I can wait! After all, we have to focus on that first, and not get distracted!"  
>"Yosh! Tomorrow decides it all! Let us go and get some sleep, sleep is important for maintaining youth!" Lee announced, saluting. I only smiled at him, I loved seeing him happy. Lee walked me home, and stayed for dinner since Takashi offered. I went and had a shower, then got into bed. I was ready. Ready for tomorrow. Though, my mind kept flickering between the finalists. Who would I be up against? Would I have to battle twice?<br>In the finalists, there were only 6 of us, Lee, Daisuke, Tenten, A Sunagakure ninja who I can't remember the name of, myself and a very mysterious grey-haired dude who doesn't wear a headband, wont say where he's from and he wears a mask just like Kakashi-sensei's. Now that guy was scary. In the preliminary matches he won his match in a matter of seconds using only Taijutsu! My spine shivered at the thought of his ice blue emotionless eyes. I rolled over and tried to sleep, clearing everything from my mind.


	66. Chapter 66

After I woke and stood in the kitchen talking to Takashi I heard a really loud snoring coming from the loungeroom, I looked at him questioningly.  
>"... Oh that, yes well.. your friend seemed to have crashed on the lounge last night.. and I didn't have the heart to kick him out." Takashi said.<br>"... You kicked Daisuke-kun out.." I mumbled under my breath.  
>"What?"<br>"Nothing." I replied. I walked out into the loungeroom and saw Lee, snoozing on the lounge, his arm and leg hanging off, ready to fall off. He had the most peaceful expression despite his mouth hanging wide open. I walked up to him and sat on him. "LEE-SAN GET UP WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!" I shouted.  
>Lee jumped, his eyes snapped open and he shouted. "WAAAH GAI-SENSEI I AM SO SORRY I DID NOT MEAN TO SLE- ….. S-Setsuki-chan?" He asked, looking up at me.<br>"Morning." I giggled. I stood up.  
>"Where.." Lee sat up rubbing his eyes.<br>"My house.." I replied. He blinked.  
>"H-how did I get here!?"<br>"You fell asleep there lad." Takashi said, walking into the room.  
>"I.. did..?" He asked.<br>"Yup! It's okay. Did you get enough sleep?" I asked.  
>"I don't remember waking up at all.." Lee replied scratching his head.<br>"Then you did!" I grabbed his wrist and pulled him off the couch. "Time to get ready for some morning warm ups!"  
>"YOSH! 100 Sit ups- lets go!" Lee suddenly dropped to his butt and started doing sit ups right there. It was quite remarkable, to do that so quickly after waking up.<br>"... How do you two get that energy so early?" Takashi asked, the most astonished expression on his face. I stretched and laughed.  
>"It's because we're youthful!" I replied.<br>"Yosh!" Lee agreed.

At the finals, it was the same place as last time. Same rules, same conditions, etc. We stood in the sheltered area in the wall, after Tsunade's speech. I kept my eye on that Kei dude.. he leaned against the wall, his arms folded, and his eyes closed. I noticed the bandage on left his arm was rather.. roughly done too.. it was mysterious. I stood in a group with Lee, Tenten and Daisuke. The Sunagakure ninja stood on the other side of the room, giving an uneasy look towards Kei. Kei opened his cold, piercing eyes, staring straight at her. The Sunagakure ninja screamed which made everyone jump.  
>We all looked at her questioningly. Kei scoffed in his throat. "If you are such a coward... why are you here?" Kei asked, his voice almost as deep as Kakashi-sensei's, and his speech was monotoned and emotionless. There was tension in the room.<br>"I-I'm not a cow-" The Sunagakure ninja shrieked at Kei when he narrowed his eyes.  
>"What's the problem up there?" Genma asked from the arena.<br>"I forfeit!" The Sunagakure screamed before running from the room. Lee, Daisuke, Tenten and I looked between each other confused.  
>Tenten grimaced. "I don't trust that guy.. listen guys, if any of us have to battle him, be careful okay?" She muttered. We all nodded, thinking the same thing. I thought Gaara was scary, but this guy is worse.<br>"... We're going to have to change around the matches now.." Genma sighed to himself. He scribbled a few things onto his sheet of paper, then raised his voice to announce the changes. "The matches will now proceed as follows, Rock Lee vs Yamanaka Daisuke will remain the same, Kiyomizu Kei will now be versing Kuromizu Setsuki, and Tenten will be versing the winner between either match."  
>Daisuke and Lee glared at each other, then jumped down to the arena. They both got into stance.<br>"Begin." Genma spoke, then jumped back to the sidelines.  
>"Yosh! I am ready! Come at me, Daisuke-kun!" Lee shouted. Daisuke got a smug smirk. They started to talk, but it was very hard to hear anything because they were so far away. I could only watch their lips move, but I was not a good lipreader.<br>"Heh.. after I beat you, I'll have Setsuki-chan to myself." Daisuke teased. "Then you'll be the lonely loser who can't do anything but Taijutsu!"  
>Lee seemed to tense. "I.. I can defeat you using just that, Taijutsu! I will prove that I can be just as strong as an average ninja like yourself, Daisuke-kun!" He replied.<br>Daisuke snickered. "Average? I'm _above_ average.." Daisuke hushed into a low voice. "And Setsuki-chan thinks so too~ she told me just how strong she thinks I am. Which is stronger than you."  
>Lee seemed a little uneasy. "Setsuki-chan.. she told me she believes in my strength, that is enough to get me through this fight! No matter how strong Setsuki-chan believes you are, I will prove to her that our training was not put to waste!"<br>Daisuke's smirk grew bigger. "Do you know why she trains with you? Do you know why she spends so much time _telling_ you that you're 'good'? It's because she pities you. She sees just how much of a sore loser you are, so she pities you. She's a nice girl, she is only being nice to you. But deep down, she really sees you as some sort of dropout. Someone behind the crowd, who can't keep up with us. When she fights you she holds back, just to make you _think_ you stand a chance. Sh-"  
>"ENOUGH!" Lee shouted at the top of his lungs, like he was upset. I wondered what they were talking about. His fists were clenched, and this force shot up from the ground, Lee started to glow a greenish colour.. I've seen this before.. the 8 Inner Gates! Why on Earth was he using this?!<br>Daisuke seemed to get a serious expression. "You've resorted to _that_ so quickly? Have you already realized that you're too weak to defeat me!?"  
>"Gate of Opening, open!" Lee's aura grew stronger. His eyes turned white. "I will prove just how strong I have become! I will prove my worth by defeating you!"<br>Daisuke got into a defensive stance. Lee bolted at Daisuke, he was fast. He vanished for a split second before appearing under Daisuke, he kicked him up into the air, Daisuke seemed like an easy target. Lee used the Kage Buyō to appear behind Daisuke, and locked his arms around Daisuke, restraining his movements. Daisuke seemed to have expected all this.  
>"Primary Lotus!" Lee shouted, they begun spinning very fast, headed straight for the ground.<br>"You fool! I have you right where I want you!"  
>"What?!" Lee suddenly let go of Daisuke, then tumbled into the ground. Daisuke landed on his feet, a little dizzy, but stable. Daisuke moved his hands around, and Lee rose to his feet. It was almost like Daisuke was controlling Lee. "What is this?! I cannot.. I cannot control my body!"<br>"Inoichi-san was happy enough to teach me this new jutsu.. Mind Destruction Jutsu. You got so close I was able to put my chakra into your body, now I can control it. I can control you without having to transfer my conscience."  
>"I.. I must fight it!" Lee exclaimed.<br>"You had chakra coming out of your body.. it was simple enough to slip my chakra into it, and now it's already absorbed into your body. See, you're still a loser. There's no way you can win. I have you cornered, checkmate. Surrender."  
>"... I will never surrender!" Lee shouted, he stepped forward, surprising Daisuke.<br>"How did you... I mustn't have put in enough chakra.. fine, I'll do this the hard way!" Daisuke ran at Lee, Lee ran at Daisuke, at a much faster speed. Daisuke managed to quicken his pace enough to catch Lee's fist, but not fast enough to dodge Lee's kick aimed straight at his stomach. Daisuke bawled as he was send flying backwards, and crashing into the wall.  
>"You should not underestimate your opponents, Daisuke-kun!" Lee shouted, when suddenly another Daisuke appeared behind him.<br>"You're right." He sneered, the Daisuke that went flying was a shadow clone.  
>"H-how?! When!?" Lee questioned.<br>"You're mine." Daisuke flattened his hand, and slammed it into the side of Lee's neck, right on the nerve. Lee's eyes widened from the pain, the green chakra coating him disappeared, he fell, it was painful to watch because I saw a drop of water fall which seemed to be a tear from Lee. It reflected in the sunlight. Daisuke could see it too, he flicked it, causing it to shatter. "Tears of the weak.. I've won. You're still a loser, and you always will be."  
>I wanted to run out and see if Lee was okay, but I knew I would be disqualified if I did, and if I was to be disqualified, then Tenten would have to verse this Kei guy, and we all knew he is dangerous. I didn't want to put her in danger.<br>"Now Setsuki-chan is all mine. She'll never glance at you ever again.. she wont want anything to do with you. You've let her down. She spent all this time trying to make you stronger, and you just let her down. You put all that time to waste. Pathetic." Daisuke spoke to Lee as if he was still conscious. I couldn't hear what he was saying. Maybe he was telling Lee that he put up a good fight. I smiled, I liked Daisuke-kun because he's always so friendly. He's a great friend.  
>Kei suddenly vanished, into thin air. I realized it was our turn.. Tenten petted me on the shoulder for comfort. I nodded a thank you at her and jumped down after our names were called.<br>Kei was only a few metres away.. I felt scared.

"Begin." Genma spoke, then jumped to the sidelines. Daisuke was back in the room with Tenten to wait his next match, and Lee was sent to the medical room for treatment, but his wounds weren't serious.  
>"You'd best be a challenge kid.. don't bore me." Kei spoke. He took a step forward as getting ready to charge, when suddenly he was right in front of me, in a split second. I jumped, I didn't even have time to react before his fist almost crushed my stomach, I was sent backwards, and I tumbled on the ground.<br>"Setsuki!" Daisuke shouted, panicked. I tried not to let it get to me as I quickly rose to my feet. He was fast... I had to become faster if I wanted to defeat him.  
>Kei stood there, staring at me with his piercing ice-blue eyes. They sent shivers down my spine.<br>"Are you going to fight me.. or are you going to stand there like a scared mutt."  
>"I-I'm not scared!" I exclaimed. I thought of trying that jutsu I created, I've refined it and made it as powerful as a bullet. The spray of the water from it feels like thousands of sharp needles. I focus the chakra and perform the hand signs. "Suiton: Mizu Hebi!" I shoot a powerful gust of water in the shape of a snake, directly at Kei, at the speed of a jet. There's no way he could avoid that, this is my fastest and most powerful ninjutsu.<br>My eyes widened. He merely sidestepped, treated it like it was nothing! How could he move so fast?! The snake finally collided into the wall, creating a huge crack.  
>"See if that had've hit me.. it would've punctured my organs.. why do you look so surprised that I would evade something like that?" Kei mocked. I tried to ignore him, and ran at him. If I cant outdo his speed with ninjutsu, I had to try my luck with taijutsu. I threw some fast paced punches, but he blocked every single one, and countered, most of which I managed to either block or dodge. But his punches were heavy, they hurt just to catch.<br>Kei suddenly dived his hands forward and grabbed my shirt, pulled me in then punched me across the face and dropped me to cringe in pain. It almost felt like he broke my jaw, it was definitely numb with pain. I didn't know if I was going to be able to beat this guy.. Kei stood on the back of my neck, digging it into the ground. I coughed and cringed in pain.  
>"Do you give up?" He asked. I was thinking of it..<p> 


	67. Chapter 67

"Setsuki-chan! Do not give up!" Lee's voice called. I looked up to see Lee standing beside Daisuke and Tenten, a few bruises on him, but other than that he seemed fine. Tenten was helping him stand, because using the inner gates caused internal injuries.  
>He gave a weak smile and a thumbs up. Kei put more pressure on my neck, I couldn't breathe properly.<br>"Your friend up there is trying to get you killed it seems." Kei sneered.  
>"N-no.." I coughed, gasping for air. "He has... faith in me.." I used the water subtitution jutsu, and turned into a puddle of water.<br>Kei humphed as his foot splashed in the puddle. "So you can do a few water tricks... it wont save you."  
>I was wondering, just how could a Genin be so strong? His strength was one thing, but agility was another. I could only wait until my body regenerated. I kept hearing Lee's voice calling out and telling me I could win. It was encouraging.<br>Kei stepped backwards, and my body regenerated, I jumped away from him quickly. "Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu." He muttered, suddenly he was gone. I looked around quickly, my guard raised. He wasn't behind me, beside me, or above.. My eyes widened as a hand grabbed my foot.  
>"Dammit.." I cussed under my breath. The foot pulled me down into the soil, up to my shoulders, only my head was poking out of the ground. I couldn't move, I was stuck.<br>Kei appeared in front of me. "Guess it's time to finish you." He said. I struggled helplessly.  
>"DO NOT GIVE UP, SETSUKI-CHAN!" Lee shouted. I looked over to Lee, he had a concerned look upon his face. I have to win this.. for Lee!<br>Substitution Jutsu. A log replaced my body in the earth. I bolted for the tree on the field, and hid in it without him noticing. I had to think of something, and fast.  
>"So you think you can out-smart me, hm?" Kei sneered. I flinched when I saw him looking directly at the tree I was in. How did he know I was here... "You can run from me, but you can't hide."<br>Maybe if I created a clone, to confuse him.  
>"Creating clones wont help either." Kei's voice was suddenly behind me, I flinched. He kicked me heavily, caused me to fly out of the tree and land roughly on the ground. I pulled myself up slowly, Kei jumped out of the tree, the bandages on his arm were becoming loose, but I paid no attention to it.<br>From up in the Kage stand, Tsunade seemed to have noticed something was wrong.  
>Kei stepped towards me. I kept a close eye on him. I was in pain from these heavy punches and kicks he gave. I think it was time to go all out. But first I needed water. Lots of water.<br>"Suiton: Ame no Jutsu!" Rainclouds rolled in, and began pouring down heavy rain over the arena. It wasn't too long before the arena was being filled with water, like a giant bowl. The water was now ankle height all over.  
>"... The purpose of this jutsu..? Rain? Or.. is it to create water..?" Kei was mumbling to himself, examining the clouds.<br>"Suiton: Daibakuryū!" I mixed my chakra into the water, which rose up and created a huge whirlpool, the more rain that fell, the bigger it became. Kei didn't seem very impressed. He just stood there almost gawking. I managed to get him trapped into the whirlpool. My intention - drowning him. Kei was sucked up into it. I thought I had him now. The clouds evaporated into thin air, leaving just the huge whirlpool.  
>"Surprise." Kei's voice whispered behind me. I jumped, almost whimpered at the fright. How on earth.. could he escape something like that?! I had no choice but to release the jutsu if I wanted to avoid him. As soon as the water all collapsed to knee-height I noticed there was nothing even there. Kei actually did manage to escape. Impossible..<br>Kei grabbed the back of my neck, tightly, causing me to cringe. "Interesting jutsu.. but it is not strong enough to affect me.. I've had enough games now. I'm going to end it now." Kei threw me against the wall, now gripping the front of my neck tightly, pinning me against the wall and off the ground. I gasped for air and kicked my feet around trying to hit him.  
>"Stop the match!" Tsunade's voice roared through the entire place. Kei looked over his shoulder, but did not let go of my neck. I couldn't breathe properly, I could only gasp.<br>Genma, along with everyone else, looked at her questioningly. Tsunade pointed down at Kei. "That boy, he is disqualified!"  
>Kei looked at his arm. "Oh.. it appears my bandage slipped off.. oops." He said in a sarcastic tone. My eyes widened at his arm. An ANBU tattoo.<br>"Are you really an ANBU?!" Genma questioned, glaring at him.  
>"Alright.. alright. You caught me.." Kei sneered. He dropped his grip on my neck and I fell, to my hands and knees, coughing and gasping desperately for air. An ANBU!? I was fighting an ANBU this whole time?! Kei kneeled down to me, and put his hand under my chin, tilting my head up to look at him, into his cold, piercing ice-blue, emotionless eyes. "I want to have a little word with you before I leave." I didn't respond. Genma was approaching. "Yakushi Kabuto.." My eyes widened. "Last time you came to Lord Orochimaru's hideout you were seeking out your.. sensei, am I correct?" He gave me no time to respond. "I saw you and your 'friends' messing around with Kabuto.. and him being weak as usual, was struggling against you four.. I was the one to knock you all unconscious." He explained. I noticed his voice became a little softer, but only a little. "I heard what Kabuto said to you. He is not your cousin?" Kei scoffed. "That man doesn't know anything. See, water girl. Kabuto is your cousin."<br>"Wh-what?!" I coughed.  
>Kei stood up as Genma was almost beside him. I looked up at him in shock. "But he doesn't remember you. He's not the same person you think he is. He lost his memory, and cannot bring them back... he will never remember you.. so don't bother coming back to get him. Because if you do.. I will kill you."<br>My eyes widened. Genma grabbed Kei's wrist. "You're coming with me. You have broken the rules, and-"  
>"Shut up." Kei gushed at Genma. "I'm taking my leave now. I've gathered enough information about you Konoha shinobi, and I'm passing it straight on to Lord Orochimaru." Kei smirked under his mask.<br>"You what?!" Genma questioned.  
>Kei chuckled under his breath in amusement, then stepped backwards. "I was sent here as a spy.. but you're all too naive to see that. You'll let in anyone at this time of year, hm?" Kei did a hand sign. We all raised our guard. I just remained on my hands and knees, staring with disbelief.<br>Genma ran at Kei. Suddenly a giant snake head burst out from the ground, about to swallow Kei.  
>"Farewell." Kei said, the snake clamped it's mouth shut then poofed into a cloud of smoke, which Genma choked on. Kabuto's memories.. were gone? Was it that Orochimaru's doing?! I clenched my fist and punched the ground.<br>"Dammit!" I cussed.  
>"Setsuki-chan!" I heard a pair of feet land near my head. I look up, it was Lee. He knelt down, clearly in pain, but tried to hide it. "Are you alright!?"<br>I sat up and gave a small nod. "Yeah.. I'm okay." I replied. We both looked at Genma. He was talking with another two Jonin about the situation. I looked at Lee. "Are you alright?"  
>Lee sort of tensed then looked at me. "Yes! I am.." He tilted his head for a moment, glimpsed at Daisuke with an unsure expression, then faced me again. Daisuke was frowning.<br>"Daisuke-kun looked like he gave you a rough time... Lee-san, why did you open the inner gates straight away?" I asked. Lee averted his eyes from mine, and turned them to the ground. "You.. know it's risky." I mentioned.  
>"Yes.. I know but.." Lee looked up at Daisuke, again. I was beginning to think maybe something was going on between those two that I didn't know about.. "I.. I let him get to me.. it created an opening.." Lee sighed sadly.<br>"Get... to you?" I tilted my head. Lee immediately faced me.  
>"D-Do not worry. It is nothing to worry about. Here, let us go back up there and rest." Lee said. I could tell he was trying to hide something.<br>I was forced to evaporate all the water I had created, so the arena wasn't flooded for the next match. It kind of felt like a huge training session. It was now between Daisuke, Tenten and myself. My match's outcome wasn't decided, so they kept me in the competition.  
>It was Daisuke vs Tenten first, in order to allow me to rest. Daisuke defeated Tenten.<br>Now it was my time to fight Daisuke. I wasn't gonna hold back this time, I was gonna go all out. By the look in Daisuke's eyes, he was thinking the same thing.  
>"Setsuki-chan, I wont hold back.. if I can defeat you, it will prove my worth!" Daisuke announced. I didn't fully understand what he meant, but I nodded.<br>"Yosh! Lets go!"  
>Our fight was long and intense the whole time. In our spars Daisuke never showed this much potential.. ever. Was he.. always holding back on me?<br>We were both out of breath, staring each other down.  
>"Setsuki.. I think I should tell you.. you're under my Genjutsu." Daisuke suddenly said, he smiled, stopped panting and was completely fine.<br>"G-Genjutsu!?" I looked around, everything seemed normal. "Since when could you do Genjutsu!?" I questioned.  
>"Beefy-sensei gave me a little training. I finally understand how to do it. And I know you can't escape it... so I've been tiring you out all this time." He explained. I felt irritated.<br>"So you weren't really fighting after all!?" I questioned.  
>"... I don't want to hurt you, Setsuki.." He said.<br>"Have you... been holding back all this time.. just because of that?" I asked. He gave a slight nod. I felt irritated. "That's part of the whole ninja idea! Don't you understand!? No pain no gain!" I exclaimed.  
>"But Set-"<br>"As long as I'm alive, any injury I get will heal! That's what Uncle Takashi always says!" I exclaimed. "You shouldn't worry about hurting me, Daisuke-kun! It's not like I'm going to dislike you for it!"  
>"Wait.. you wont? I.. I was always afraid.. that if I hurt you.. you would turn your back on me.." He said.<br>I shook my head. "No! I don't like it when people hold back! It's.. It's kinda like you're underestimating your opponent.."  
>"But I know how strong you are.."<br>"Then fight me! I want to see your full strength!" I exclaimed. Daisuke bit the inside of his cheek, then released the Genjutsu.  
>"Fine. No Genjutsu. This is the real thing." He said.<br>I nodded, then ran at him. We fought properly this time. Going all out on each other. We were pretty tied in strength, though I think I was a little faster, and he was a little stronger. I wasn't used to him being so strong - but I guess that's because he was always holding back..  
>I was out of breath, and almost out of chakra. I stared at Daisuke across the arena. My vision was starting to blur, I was feeling a dizziness take over. Fatigue.<br>Daisuke was also beaten up, he was swaying on the spot. Until we both collapsed at the same time, everything blacked out for me.  
>When I woke up I was laying on a stretcher in the medical room. I sat up, feeling really sore - like I'd torn several muscles.<br>"No no rest miss Setsuki. You need to recover." A medic said, noticing my movement.  
>"Naaah, I'd rather not." I replied and stood up, feeling a little weak.<br>"But you-"  
>"DID I HEAR SETSUKI-CHAN'S VOICE!?" Lee's voice echoed from outside the room. The door burst open - Lee. "SETSUKI-CHAN!"<br>"I TOLD YOU TO GET OUT AND STAY OUT!" The medic shouted at him.  
>"BUT SETSUKI-"<br>"OUT!"  
>"BUT-"<br>"OUT!" She screamed.  
>Lee gave the biggest pout I'd ever seen. The medic glared. "I-I promise I wont sit on her again!"<br>"OUT!"  
>"Sit on... again..?" I tilted my head. "Lee-san.. what did you just say?"<br>"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! I SWEAR IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!" Lee dropped to his hands and knees, his head nearly touched the floor as he bowed. "I DID NOT SEE YOU LAYING THERE AND I SAT DOWN... ON YOU.." He explained.  
>"STOP SHOUTING! You're disrupting the other patients!" The medic yelled.<br>"I AM SORRY!" Lee faced her, without getting up he bowed again. I laughed.  
>"What's the big problem with him sitting on me?" I asked.<br>"Wha'ts the big problem!?" The medic mocked. "The big problem is that you could've had an injury on your chest!"  
>"Ch-chest?" I looked at Lee. His face went bright red.<br>"I-I AM SORRY! I DID NOT MEAN TO!" He was almost in tears. I sweatdropped and waved my hand.  
>"N-no no it's okay." I laughed nervously. I could tell it was an accident, so it wasn't an issue at all! Lee immediately stood up and pointed a thumbs up at the medic.<br>"See! It is okay!" He gleamed a smile at her. She was not impressed, she pointed at the door.  
>"Out!"<br>Lee whined and went to leave the room. I quickly dived forward and grabbed his hand. "Wait! Don't leave me here!" I pleaded. Lee blinked, looked at me, then the medic, then the door, then back at me.  
>"Ohh no you don't, you're not going anywhere young lady." The medic said.<br>"But you're scary!" I whined. Her eye twitched.  
>"Scary? I'LL SHOW YOU SCARY!" She shouted. I whimpered and hid behind Lee.<br>"Do not worry, Setsuki-chan! I will protect you!" Lee suddenly turned and wrapped his arm around my waist, hoisted me up and sat me on his shoulder and bolted out the door.  
>"HEY! GET BACK HERE!" The medic shouted, tumbling out the door in pursuit of us.<br>"NO ONE CAN CATCH MEEEEE!" Lee shouted, when suddenly Neji came out of no where in front of him, causing Lee to skid to a stop. "N-Neji!"  
>Neji frowned. "What.. are you doing.."<br>"I am saving Setsuki-chan from that scary medic!" Lee explained. Neji looked at me- well.. my feet.  
>"Take her back. She needs rest." Neji huffed.<br>"No! I will not allow Setsuki-chan to suffer!"  
>"She's resting! She's not going to suffer from resting!" Neji growled.<br>"Yes I will!" I whined. I heard footsteps. "Ahh! She's getting closer!"  
>"Yosh! Fear not! I will continue running an-"<br>Neji punched Lee's head downwards. "Idiot!"  
>Lee looked up at Neji, seeming unhurt. Lee's eye twitched. "That was not nice!" Lee whined in a high pitched voice. He then cleared his throat in embarrassment. I thought his high-pitched voice was cute.<br>The footsteps got closer, when the person turned the corner, it wasn't the medic, it was Tenten.  
>"What's going on?! I heard shouting and squealing!" Tenten exclaimed.<br>"I did not squeal!" Lee huffed, frowning at her. Tenten blinked.  
>"Is.. that Setsuki?"<br>"Huh? Oh, yes! It is!" Lee dropped me. I landed face first into the ground. "A-AH! S-Sorry Setsuki-chan!" Lee knelt down quickly to help me up when Neji hit his hand away.  
>"You're dangerous to be around Lee.." He said with a grimace. Lee grimaced right back.<br>Tenten helped me up. "My hand slipped..!" Lee said.  
>"See? It's okay." I said. They all looked at me. "His hand slipped.. it was an accident, it's okay." I repeated.<br>Neji and Tenten glared. "I don't think he should be near you anyway.. he sat on your chest!" Tenten mentioned.  
>"That's okay too." I said. Lee scratched the back of his head nervously.<br>"Okay!? You're okay with it!?"  
>"Y-yes.. Lee-san said it was an accident, and that he didn't see me laying there! So it was an accident, and is okay!" I said.<br>"You actually believe that?! That it was an accident!?"  
>I nodded. "Yup."<br>"Tenten. Don't bother getting worked up.. they seem to believe everything they tell each other.." Neji commented. Tenten rolled her eyes.  
>"No wonder they make a great couple." She scoffed. Lee and I gave them blank expressions. I looked at Lee again. I don't know why, but my eyes scanned his body. That's when I noticed something I didn't see before. A chuunin jacket! I gasped.<br>"You passed?!" I questioned. They all looked at me questioningly. Lee looked down at his jacket, then looked back up at me and had the biggest grin ever.  
>"Yes! I did!" Lee exclaimed. I felt happy for him, I threw myself at him and hugged him tightly.<br>"That's great!" I exclaimed. Lee hugged back tightly too. We were pretty much squeezing each other to death.  
>"C-Can't b-breathe.." We both gasped.<br>"Then let go!" Tenten shouted. We let go of each other and inhaled deeply, then laughed about it.  
>"Setsuki-chan! That reminds me, I have something for you!" Lee said, capturing my attention.<br>"Huh? You do?"  
>Lee unzipped his jacket halfway, and reached into it. I blinked. He then pulled out another Chuunin jacket, folded neatly. "This one is yours!" He said, holding it out to me. I looked at his face, then the jacket and back and forth repeatedly.<br>"M-Mine?"  
>Lee nodded eagerly, throwing it at me. I caught it, and looked up at him again. "You passed too, Setsuki-chan! We're both chuunin now!" I had the biggest, goofiest grin on my face. "I told them I would give it to you myself! Also, Daisuke-kun passed, but Tenten did not-"<br>"Shut up!" Tenten punched his head into the ground. Lee wailed loudly. I sweatdropped.  
>"D-Don't worry Tenten, I'm sure you'll make it next year!" I said, giving her a thumbs up. Suddenly Neji hit me over the head too. "Ow!" I looked at him, demanding an explanation. He just shrugged.<br>"I just felt like it." He said blunty, then turned away. Lee looked up, his nose was bleeding.  
>"Neji!" Lee whined in a high pitched tone again. I giggled, I don't know why, but I giggled. Lee cleared his throat, and narrowed his eyes. "That was not nice!"<br>Neji started to walk away. I helped Lee to his feet. "Looks like we might have to go back in there.." I mentioned, staring at the blood continuously falling. Lee shook his head defiantly, getting blood all over him, then put his wrist against his nose to catch most of the blood.  
>"No, no I am fine!" He implied. I put my Chuunin jacket on, and felt like I'd just gotten stronger just by putting it on. I didn't zip it up though. I decided Lee would come with us back to my house, Takashi could help us.<br>Takashi wasn't at home. It was odd, Takashi never goes out. We sat Lee on the couch, and I rushed to Takashi's room into the first aid cabinet and grabbed a few cloths and gave them to Lee to hold under his nose.  
>"Tenten, why did you have to break Lee-san's nose?" I asked with a pout. She folded her arms and shook her head.<br>"I didn't mean to." She replied. "I guess I don't know my own strength!" She laughed to herself quietly. I heard the door open, Uncle Takashi, Susumu and Daisuke walk in.  
>"Setsuki-chan!" Daisuke chimed. Susumu smiled at Tenten and Takashi frowned at the blood.<br>"Okay. Setsuki. What have I told you about breaking noses.." Takashi said, walking past me to Lee.  
>"I didn't do it!" I exclaimed. Takashi gave a doubtful expression.<br>"Yeah, I kinda.. did." Tenten admitted. Susumu laughed. Tenten glared at him.  
>Takashi stood in front of Lee, almost intimidatingly. Lee whimpered up at him. "Let me take a look.. I promise this wont hurt." Takashi sneered, leaning down. Lee hesitantly lowered the cloths, and showed his disfigured nose. Takashi smirked and put his fingers on it. "Well it might hurt.. a lot." Takashi said. Lee's eyes widened, he was about to pull away, when CRACK. Takashi snapped it back into place, and Lee wailed loudly, more blood poured out. Takashi held the cloths back under his nose. "Now, see. That wasn't so bad was it? Just keep those cloths there until the bleeding stops."<br>Lee was almost in tears from the pain, but he held them back, he didn't want to seem weak. Particularly around Daisuke - but no one took any notice of that.  
>Daisuke frowned at Lee, and faced me. "Setsuki, wanna go get some ice cream together?"<br>I smiled at him. "Sure!" I replied. Who couldn't resist ice cream! Daisuke gave a smug look to Lee that no one took notice of either, Takashi was headed towards the kitchen and Susumu was talking to Tenten. Lee frowned and lowered his eyes.  
>"Guys, do you wanna come get some i-"<br>"No no just us." Daisuke said, hushing me. "Just you and me, Setsuki."  
>I blinked, a little confused, but I agreed anyway. I called out to Takashi where I was going, recieving a response.<br>Daisuke and I sat in the ice cream shop, eating away happily. When suddenly Daisuke brought up a strange conversation.  
>"Lee." He said, capturing my attention. I tilted my head. His eyes seemed distant. "Just what do you seen in that guy?"<br>".. What do you mean?" I asked, then took another spoonful of ice cream.  
>Daisuke looked me in the eye. "Do you actually like him.. or are you just being friendly 'cause he has no other friends?"<br>"Of course I like him, Daisuke-kun! What do you mean he has no other friends?!" I questioned, my expression becoming serious. "Lee-san has lots of friends!"  
>Daisuke shook his head and sighed. "No Setsuki. You don't understand. Lee.. he thinks he has friends. But truth is, everyone sees just how much of a failure he is. They all look down on him, and since you're always around him.. it.. it kind of makes you look bad.. Setsuki-chan." He said. I lowered my spoon and placed it on the table.<br>"Don't.. ever say that again." I said, almost theatening him. I've never threatened anyone close to me before. I had this strange, negative feeling in my gut. Daisuke looked up at me, our eyes met. "Lee-san. He's not a failure! He works hard, every day, he does not stop! He pushes himself past his limits every day. He is becoming stronger. Much stronger. Lee-san, he works way more than you, Daisuke-kun." I said, standing up. Daisuke seemed a little hurt by my words, and I hated his expression. I felt like a bad guy.. but it was the truth. I let out a deep sigh. "I am friends with Lee-san.. because.. because I really really like him!" I admitted, then turned and left the building. Daisuke tensed at my last sentence, and called out my name several times. I was about to run away when a hand appeared out of no where in front of me. It was Lee's..  
>"S.. Setsuki-chan, please wait." He spoke. I faced him with slight surprise. "I... I did not mean to eavesdrop.. but I heard my name be said... was all that.. true?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.<br>My stomach tingled and felt numb, my heart rate sped up.  
>"It's.. true." I answered. Lee lowered his arm and stood straight. Daisuke ran outside after me, and stood beside me, frowning at Lee. A small part of me didn't want Daisuke here, and I couldn't figure out why..<br>"Then... Daisuke-kun.." Lee gave Daisuke a confused expression. Daisuke tensed and looked away, grimacing.  
>"Fine. I admit, I was wrong..." Daisuke huffed, his fists clenched. Lee's eyes seemed to widen a fraction.<br>"Wrong about what?" I asked, confused. Daisuke glimpsed at me with a pained expression.  
>"Setsuki-chan.. could you give us a moment?" Daisuke asked, putting his hand on Lee's shoulder and forcing him to walk alongside him. I stood there, watching them walk away. I scratched my stomach because it wouldn't calm down. I sighed and went back inside and ordered some more ice cream to eat in the meantime, I didn't know how long they would be.<br>"Lee, listen." Daisuke spoke. Lee was all ears. "I don't know how to say this... I lied to you at the Chuunin Exams." He said.  
>"L-lied?"<br>"Yes.. I.. I would never admit to something like this... but.. I'm j... I'm jealous.. of you, okay."  
>"Jealous? Why are you jealous of me?" Lee asked, surprised.<br>"Because you get all of Setsuki-chan's attention. You.. you're always around her. She's always around you. I barely even get to speak to her anymore.. I'm envious.. I want Setsuki-chan back."  
>"I.. I think I understand, Daisuke-kun. I did not notice that I was spending nearly every day with Setsuki-chan.. now that I think of it..."<br>"Just.. leave her alone for a while. Let me spend some time with her. She is my teammate after all!" Daisuke looked around the area, making sure the area was clear. "Look.." Daisuke glanced at Lee's guilty expression. "I'm in love with Setsuki, 'right?" Lee's eyes widened.  
>"L-Love?"<br>"Yes! Since the very moment I met her, I knew she was the one. I tried to prove myself to her, every day, but she still seems oblivious to my feelings even after all this time.. but how the hell am I supposed to prove myself when you keep taking her away from me?!"  
>"I... I..." Lee let out a short sigh and lowered his head. "Forgive me.. Daisuke-kun.. I did not realise you.. were in love with... Setsuki-chan.." Lee was almost in pain at speaking those words.<br>"Now she's attached to you like a fridge magnet! I said all those things.. I lied to you, because I didn't want her around you anymore.."  
>Lee gave a short nod of understanding. "Say no more, Daisuke-kun." Daisuke gave him a stern look. "If that is your true intentions, then I will help you!"<br>"Wait.. what?"  
>"Setsuki-chan always tried so hard to help me be with Sakura-chan... but despite all her hard work, things did not work out. Sakura-chan.. does not see me worthy, she is only in love with Sasuke.. but I did not tell Setsuki-chan, because I did not want her to think all her effort had gone to waste. So, in return, I do what Setsuki-chan did for me. I can help you be with Setsuki-chan!" Lee was hiding a wall of sadness at his own words.<br>"Y.. you'd.. do that? For me? After everything I did?"  
>"... Gai-sensei says that, love makes you do crazy things." Lee replied, giving a thumbs up to the blondie. Daisuke would've burst into tears, but he held them in and stood up straight.<br>"I don't know what to say.."  
>"Thank you, would suffice!" Lee replied, gritting his teeth, holding back unshed tears.<br>".. Thanks.." Daisuke said.  
>I'd finished my ice cream and was waiting almost impatiently for them to come back. It kind of irritated me, the way Daisuke-kun degraded Lee like that. I stared out the window, my mind deep in thought, then I remembered what Kei said to me about Kabuto. I never told Takashi. I stood up.<br>"I'm sure they'll come find me later." I muttered to myself. I headed straight home.


	68. Chapter 68

I told Takashi everything. He seemed to understand the situation. "So he's got permanent amnesia, does he?"  
>"I.. think so." I replied.<br>Takashi adjusted his glasses, and stared at a picture frame on the counter, of himself, Auntie Megumi and baby Kabuto. "No matter.." He mumbled. I could tell it really bothered him - it bothered me after all. "Thanks for telling me, Setsuki. Your fight against him was impressive too."  
>"You saw it?"<br>"Of course. I was in the crowd.." He said, rolling his eyes. "You don't think I'd miss out do you?"  
>I smiled. Suddenly a knock on the door disturbed our conversation. Takashi stood up. "It'd be for you." He said. I nodded and answered the door. Lee.<br>I was about to say something, when he raised a finger to my lips to silence me. "Setsuki-chan! I have something to show you!"  
>I blinked. "Oh okay." I called out to Takashi that I was leaving, then Lee took hold of my wrist and lead me away. I kind of wanted to hold hands again, but he didn't seem to want to..<p>

Lee took me to a nearby park then slowed down to a walk rather than a jog. He seemed to look around for something.  
>"Oh.. I guess it flew away." He said.<br>"Flew away?"  
>"It was a beautiful bird, it was perched just here- oh! Is that, Daisuke-kun..?" Lee looked over to Daisuke who was on the ground, and looked like he was crouching. I tilted my head.<br>"Yeah, that's Daisuke-kun.. what happened with you tw-"  
>"He looks hurt! Come on, Setsuki-chan!" Lee dragged me over to Daisuke, who looked like he was in pain. He was holding his knee.<br>"Daisuke-kun!" I knelt down. "Are you okay?" I asked. He looked up at me with the biggest puppy eyes.  
>"I scraped my knee.." He whined. I blinked and giggled. "What's so funny.."<br>"No pain, no gain, Daisuke-kun!" I stood up, giving him a thumbs up. Daisuke sweatdropped and Lee facepalmed. I tilted my head at their behaviour.  
>"Er.. yeah, you're right, Setsuki-chan!" Daisuke stood up, cringed then fell over wailing.<br>"D-Daisuke-kun?" I questioned. He held his knee.  
>"I broke my leg in the last few seconds! Owww!" He cried. My eyes widened.<br>"Oh no!" I helped Daisuke up.  
>"W-We must get a medic!" Lee exclaimed. I nodded.<br>"Daisuke-kun! Get on my back! I'll carry you!" I said.  
>"No! You wait here, Setsuki-chan! I will fetch a medic for you, if you move Daisuke-kun around too much it could break another bone!" Lee exclaimed I gasped and dropped Daisuke.<br>"I am sorry! I didn't know!" Daisuke cringed from hitting his head on the ground. "I'll stay here and make sure he doesn't break another bone!"  
>Lee nodded and sprinted off. Daisuke seemed to sigh of relief. Daisuke suddenly held my hand.<br>"Setsuki-chan! Please make the pain go away!"  
>"What do you want me to do?" I asked.<br>".. How about a hug? Maybe a hug could take my mind off the pain!"  
>"Okay!" I pulled Daisuke into a hug. He hugged back.<p>

It lasted for a while, when I realized.  
>"Lee-san's not coming back, is he?" My eyes narrowed at Daisuke. He gulped.<br>"W-Well he should be!" He exclaimed. I thought they were up to something. "That bastard, if he's left me t-"  
>I hit Daisuke over the head. "Don't swear!" I huffed. He pouted.<br>"Sorry.."  
>"About earlier.. what happened between you and Lee-san?"<br>"Huh? Oh, uh.. we just had a man talk!" He said.  
>"Man talk?" I asked, suspicious.<br>"Yeah!"  
>"Sorry for the interruption." We looked up and saw Gai-sensei.<br>"Gai-sensei!"  
>"What's he doing here.." Daisuke muttered under his breath.<br>"I couldn't help but seeing you two here! Setsuki, where's Lee? I've been searching everywhere for him!"  
>"Oh, he's gone to find a m-"<br>"He's training!" Daisuke quickly cut me off. I gave him a questioning look.  
>"Huuuuh? So soon? I just checked all around our training area, he wasn't there..."<br>"He's practising his camouflage!" Daisuke said.  
>Gai-sensei clicked his fingers. "Is that right!"<br>"No." I said. He blinked. Daisuke looked at me with wide eyes. "Lee-san's gone to get a medic!"  
>"A medic?"<br>"Yeah! Because Daisuke-kun broke his leg!" I exclaimed. Gai-sensei gave Daisuke a questioning look.  
>"U-uuh.. y-yeah.." Daisuke stuttered, gritting his teeth.<br>"DAAAISUKE-KUN!" Lee's voice came shouting. We all faced him as he ran up to us. "Setsuki-chan! Daisuke-kun! Good news!"  
>"What?"<br>"Akamaru had puppies!" Lee exclaimed, seeming like he was trying to distract Gai-sensei.  
>"REALLY!?" I squealed. Daisuke choked on his phlegm and Gai-sensei scratched his chin.<br>Lee half nodded and kept staring at Gai-sensei for his reaction.  
>"Lee... you realize that Akamaru is a <em>male<em>, right?" Gai-sensei said.  
>"So? No one, man or animal should be held back from doing what they want to do!" Lee exclaimed. Gai-sensei shook his head, rubbing his forehead.<br>"That's right, Gai-sensei! I wanna go see the puppies!" I exclaimed, bouncing excitedly.  
>"Setsuki. Lee." We both look up at Gai-sensei who was frowning. "Where do babies come from?"<br>Daisuke choked again. "What?! Where'd that come from!? Why would you ask such a-"  
>"That is easy!" Lee exclaimed, talking over me as I was about to answer. He lifted a finger as if proving a point. "When a man and a woman are deeply deeply in love..."<br>Gai-sensei nodded, staring at his student intently. "Mhm. Mhm..?"  
>"And they enter the bedroom one night.."<br>Gai-sensei nodded again. "Mhm?"  
>"They go to sleep!"<br>Gai-sensei gave a hesitant nod. "M..hm..."  
>"Then during that night.."<br>"Mhm."  
>"A stalk comes from the sky and delivers a baby on their doorstep!" Lee exclaimed, grinning. Gai-sensei didn't nod. He frowned, then faced me.<br>"Yup! Every word is true!" I exclaimed.  
>"Idiots!" Gai-sensei gushed, he punched Lee across the face and I leaned back as he swung at me.<br>"What're you doing!?" Daisuke questioned. I thought Lee would've had better reflexes to avoid Gai-sensei's punches by now, but apparently not – I do.  
>Lee whined as he laid on the ground holding his cheek.<br>"You both lack the education! You should know these things at this age! I know I did! I knew _all_ about it when I was your age!" Gai-sensei trailed off into a mumble for his next sentence. "That was entirely Kakashi's fault when Jiraiya first published Icha Icha.."  
>"You sicken me.." Daisuke grumbled.<br>"What does he mean, Daisuke-kun?" I asked, looking down at my teammate.  
>"Okay okay. I'll tell you both." Daisuke said. Gai-sensei folded his arms and listened as well. Daisuke stood up, made two clones, and transformed one into a woman closely resembling Shizune, and the other into a man, similar to Gai-sensei except with a moustache.<br>"Ooooh! A play!" Lee clapped excitedly and sat up straight. I sat down beside Lee, grinning also. Gai-sensei sat behind us, his legs crossed and his arms folded, examining Daisuke closely.  
>Daisuke cleared his throat. "We call it, the birds and the bees." He said. Both Lee and I nodded.<br>The clones grinned and held hands. "Firstly, as you mentioned, Lee, they fall in love."  
>The male clone leaned forward and pecked the female one on the lips. "A-"<br>"Question!" Lee raised his hand straight into the air. Daisuke frowned.  
>"... What?"<br>"Do couples always kiss just like that?" Lee asked.  
>Daisuke frowned. "There's variations of kissing.."<br>"Can you show us?" Lee asked.  
>Daisuke's face went pale. ".. A-Another time.." Lee lowered his hand, and continued to listen. "ANYWAY. As I was saying, after they fall in love.. and have been together long enough to decide they want a child.."<br>"Shizuneko. I am ready to expand our family, how do you feel about a child?" The male clone asked.  
>The female giggled. "Oh~ Gaiton, of course!"<br>"These names sound familiar.." Gai-sensei muttered behind us, narrowing his eyes at the clone.  
>"After it's decided by both parties, they get to work on producing the baby." Daisuke explained.<br>"Question!" Lee shouted, raising his hand again. Daisuke frowned at him, waiting for him to speak. "How does one, '_Produce_' a baby?" Lee asked, tilting his head.  
>"I'm getting to that!" Daisuke growled. "Right, the firs-"<br>"I am sorry for interrupting!" Lee said, then lowered his hand.  
>"... Firstly, the couple go to the bedroom.. or wherever... wherever they are <em>alone<em>, then they get naked."  
>"I-in front of each other?!" Lee questioned, stealing the words right from my mouth.<br>"YES! IN FRONT OF EACH OTHER!" Daisuke shouted. The clones started to strip, I closed my eyes. "Then they do what is called '_Sex_'."  
>"Sex?" Lee asked.<br>"Yes.. and to do that, the man inserts his-"  
>Gai-sensei coughed loudly, choking on something. "Sorry."<br>".. into her-"  
>Gai-sensei coughed again, then cleared his throat. I dared to open my eye and I saw the clones attached to each other, smoke surrounding their private areas, but their lower areas were touching. It creeped me out. "Must have something in my throat!" Gai-sensei chuckled. "Continue."<br>"... And then, when they reach the _climax_ of the moment, the woman's eggs will be fertilised, therefore she will become p-"  
>"A woman has eggs?" I asked, confused.<br>"Inside of her." Daisuke gestured his his gut area. I looked down at my gut. ".. Anyway, she gets pregnant, and 9 months later she gives birth to a beautiful baby! Or two.. or three... sometimes even four!" Daisuke exclaimed.  
>The female clone's stomach grew out like she had eaten 50 bowls of ramen.<br>"DID SHE EAT A BABY?!" I questioned. Lee screamed.  
>"SHE ATE A BABY!?"<br>Daisuke facepalmed. "NO! SHE DID NOT EAT A BABY! THE BABY GROWS _INSIDE_ OF HER!" Daisuke exclaimed. Both Lee and I screamed and hugged each other tightly.  
>"SHE ATE THE BABY AND IT GREW INSIDE OF HER!" Lee cried.<br>"I DON'T LIKE THIS ANYMORE!" I cried. Daisuke lowered his head.  
>"No. No. No. NO! Listen! The <em>fertilised<em> eggs DEVELOP INTO A BABY!"  
>Lee and I blinked. "Like a transformation jutsu?" I asked. Daisuke made a face like he was going to give up.<br>"Yeah.. yeah like a transformation jutsu." He grumbled.  
>"OHHHHH!" Lee and I calmed down and sat normally again.<br>Just as Daisuke was about to continue his lecture, Lee raised his hand. "Question!" He did not wait for a response from Daisuke. "What happens when the woman '_Gives birth_'?"  
>".. I'm getting to that. Now this is the most painful part.. for the girl. Because she has to poop the baby out."<br>"Poop it out?"  
>"Wrong!" Gai-sensei spoke up. "It comes out the other hole!"<br>"It.. does?" Daisuke asked. Both Lee and I displayed blank expressions. The female clone started to scream and suddenly a baby poofed out between her legs. I was scarred for life. "Well.. anyway, that's how the baby is made."  
>"... Are you sure, Daisuke-kun? What about the stalk? Where is the stalk?" Lee asked.<br>"Idiot! The stalk doesn't exist!"  
>Both Lee and I gasp. "Uncle Takashi lied!" I cried.<br>"A-About the kissing.." Lee mentioned. Daisuke glared at him. "Can you show us now?"  
>Daisuke's eye twitched, he looked at me and got a smug look. "Okay, but I'll need a volunteer."<br>"OHHH! ME! PICK ME! DAISUKE-KUN! ME ME ME ME!" Lee was bouncing up and down eagerly.  
>"HELL NO!" Daisuke shouted. "Setsuki-chan, why don't <em>you<em> be my volunteer?"  
>"But.. Lee-san asked the question, not me! It's only fair that he's the volunteer!" I replied. Gai-sensei grew a smug grin.<br>"Don't forget I'm still here." Gai-sensei said, flashing a smile. Daisuke made nauseous noises.  
>"NO WAY OLD MAN! I AM <em><strong>NOT<strong>_ KISSING YOU!" Daisuke shouted, holding his stomach. Gai-sensei got an anime vein.  
>"WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD?!" Gai-sensei roared. Daisuke froze .<br>"N-No one.. no one.." He stuttered.  
>"Do I still get to be the volunteer, Daisuke-kun?" Lee asked. I grinned at Daisuke.<br>"Yes! Lee-san's the volunteer!" I cheered. Daisuke grimaced, and unintentionally nodded his head. Lee shot up from the ground and stood in front of Daisuke eagerly.  
>"I can't believe I'm really going to do this..." Daisuke glared at Lee's blank expression. "Look, Lee, after this there are no feelings between us, got it? I know we're experimenting with being friends and all... but this DOESN'T mean we're friends with benefits! Got it!?"<br>Lee saluted Daisuke, not really sure what he meant. "Yes sir!"  
>"And you are not to breathe a word of this to ANYONE! Got it!?"<br>"Yes sir!"  
>Daisuke took a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm going to do this.." He breathed.<br>"Do not worry, Daisuke-kun! I am sure we can get through this together!" Lee hoisted a thumbs up to Daisuke's face. "We can experience our first kisses, together! Like two blossoming buds of youth, transforming into a beautiful flower together!"  
>The scene made my heart melt. His words were.. beautiful.<br>Daisuke tensed and put his hand on Lee's shoulder, half closing his eyes. "Okay.." He took a deep, shaky breath. "This ones called a peck.." Daisuke leaned forward and pecked Lee's lips. Lee blinked.  
>"Peck.." Lee leaned in closer and did the same to Daisuke.<br>"Th-the... next one is called the.. single-lip kiss.." Daisuke said, his face was turning red. He leaned his head forward and gripped Lee's lower lip with his own lips then tugged on it slightly. Lee seemed to get a shiver down his spine. Lee's hand made it's way up around Daisuke's shoulders, making Daisuke tense majorly. Lee returned this kiss to Daisuke, tugging on his lower lip. Lee closed his eyes. I couldn't take my eyes away from it.  
>Daisuke never said anything, he just closed his eyes and pushed forwards causing their lips to clash, and Daisuke began to almost try and suck the air out of Lee's mouth. Lee's cheeks went bright red, but he returned the motion. Daisuke's hand on Lee's shoulder snaked it's way down and around Lee's waist.<br>"They're very good at it." Gai-sensei mentioned. I caught myself drooling and quickly wiped away the saliva before anyone saw it.  
>Daisuke pulled back momentarily to speak. "N-ngh.. this one is.. the French kiss.."<br>"F-French..?" Lee said ever so softly, without opening his eyes. Daisuke caused their lips to meet again, and slowly snaked his tongue inside of Lee's mouth, causing a shiver down Lee's spine. Lee's eyes opened half way in surprise, his face was as red as a ripe tomato.  
>Daisuke wrapped his spare arm around Lee's waist also, and pulled him in close. Lee's hand lifted to Daisuke's hair and he curled the strands with his fingers before closing his eyes.<br>The two made various moaning sounds, my heart was racing while watching. Suddenly, Lee became aggressive, his other hand cupped Daisuke's cheek and he pulled Daisuke in tightly, the kiss became rough and unrestrained.  
>It lasted what seemed like forever, when Daisuke leaned back and trailed his lips around Lee's jaw line. Lee made a quiet submissive sound, and it made my spine shiver. Daisuke and Lee seemed to be out of breath, neither of them opened their eyes. Daisuke's mouth trailed small kisses down the side of Lee's jawline to his earlobe. Lee tensed, unsure. Daisuke continued to lower head head, down Lee's neck, but stopped at the turtle-neck of the suit.<br>Daisuke suddenly widened his eyes and pulled back from Lee, his face even redder than a ripe tomato.  
>Daisuke wiped his mouth and coughed, and Lee just stood there dumbfounded. I've never seen Lee's eyes so wide before. There was a long silence, apart from Daisuke's choking and gagging of course.<p> 


	69. Chapter 69

I apologise for not updating very much lately. I'm in year 12 (last year of school) and I've been extremely caught up in school work and my job at McDonalds, I don't have much spare time at all, so I've been unable to write. However, please do not abandon hope! This doesn't mean I have quit writing completely, it just means I have no time for writing.  
>I intend to finish my story "The Lotus" no matter how long it takes me. I might be able to have some time during the Autumn break coming up over Easter, otherwise you may have to wait a little longer. But I promise you I will publish more chapters whenever I can.<p>

If you have any other inquiries about anything, please don't be shy to email me at AshleyKazekage . I will respond somewhat quickly. Thank you for your time reading this, and I hope to publish new chapters in the coming few weeks.

**Chapter 69**

"Setsuki? Setsuki?" Sakura's curious voice followed me around as I walked alone, headed home again. I turned my eyes in her direction without moving my head. "What's with that grin of yours? I'm curious!"  
>"Yeah! Me too! Your cheeks are red!" Tenten added from the other side me. They both gasped.<br>"Setsuki did Lee-"  
>"I just witnessed the most amazing thing ever." I replied to them. They blinked.<br>"What?!"  
>"I can't tell you. Daisuke-kun said not to say anything about it to anyone." I said.<br>"Setsuki~ You can tell us! We're your best friends, remember!" Tenten mentioned, elbowing my arm in a nudge. I shook my head.  
>"Nope. I promised Daisuke-kun I-"<br>"Oh! Do you hear that, Sakura?" Tenten butted in.  
>I went to continue my sentence. "I pro-"<br>"Yes! Sounds like Setsuki-chan doesn't consider us best friends anymore!" Sakura said in a hurtful tone. My lower lip quivered.  
>"B-but I promise-"<br>"Nope! Setsuki-chan , it's over." Sakura grumbled, the two linked arms and walked ahead. My lower lip quivered even more, I was pouting like a 5 year old. I watched the pair walk on ahead, without me. I stood there, my eyes wide. Should I tell them? I mean, they _are_ my friends after all.. surely there wouldn't be any harm in telling them.  
>"O-OKAY I'LL TELL YOU, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!" I cried. Both of them stopped with big smirks and instantly stood in front of me.<br>"Yes, Setsuki-chan?" They said in sync.  
>"Um... W-well.. Daisuke-kun... and... Lee-san.."<br>"Yeeesss?"  
>"K...kissed.."<br>Their eyes widened, they started gagging and choking. "UGH! THE THOUGHT OF THAT! EW!" Sakura gushed.  
>"LEE?! DAISUKE!?" Tenten looked like she was going to throw up. I couldn't understand what their problem was.<br>"Yes... Lee-san and Daisuke-kun.." I replied. They stood up straight, disgusted faces.  
>"And you say that was the best thing you've ever witnessed!?" Tenten questioned. I gave a single nod.<br>"That's seriously gross!" Sakura gushed.  
>"Well, gotta go~ Bye!" I chimed, skipping along down the path.<p>

My next destination? Hm. I'm hungry, but I have no money. So, home it is! On my way I noticed a peculiar box in the middle of the path. I looked around, no one else was around. As I got closer to it, I noticed a piece of paper attached to it roughly with tape. In big bold letters it read "_Open Me_." I thought I should, so I lifted the lid carefully off the box, there was more writing beneath the lid. "_You just took orders from a box._". I blinked.  
>"Wow.. I actually did.. huh..." I mentally laughed at the thought. This was someone's idea of a prank, wasn't it. My immediate assumption was Naruto, but then I remembered that he's off training with that Jiraiya. Perhaps it was Konohamaru?<br>I looked back at the box, there was something wrapped roughly in brown paper, so I lifted it out of the box and examined it. Again, I look around the area, still no one. I tore the brown paper, until I had unwrapped it completely. It was a small metal orb of some sort. It looked completely smooth and flawless, but then I noticed a small portion of it looked like it could be pressed. So I pressed it with my thumb, and suddenly it exploded. I screamed and felt chains against my body. When the small puff of smoke vanished, I realised I was trapped in a net made of chains.  
>"... Dammit." I huffed. I heard a cackling in a nearby bush, I stared in that direction, as if waiting for someone to jump out. Not a person, but a dog. I recognised it straight away as Akamaru. Then another dog jumped out, a white one. I don't think I know that one. Then two people stepped out. One was Kiba, the other was a red-haired Inuzuka girl. I know her! What was her name?<br>"I can't believe you fell for that!" Kiba scoffed.  
>"I know she was gullible, but not <em>that<em> gullible!" The girl laughed.  
>"Guys! Get me out of this net! Someone left this trap here!" I whined. Kiba folded his arms.<br>"Why should we?" Kiba grinned.  
>"Because I asked you to!"<br>"What if we don't wanna?"  
>"Then.. then I'll.. uh.." My speech faded out because Akamaru approached me, sniffing my arm. The other dog came over and tried to rip my shoe off.<br>"Bahaha! Good job Shiro!" The female laughed.  
>"It's gonna put a hole in my shoe!" I cried, trying to pull my foot back.<br>"Hey, Akakaze, lets go." Kiba said. The girl faced him. That's her name! Akakaze!  
>"But Shiro looks like she's having fun."<br>"Then just take Setsuki's shoe with us!"  
>"What!? No! It's my shoe! Not a dog toy!" I cried.<br>"You've got a point." Akakaze grinned then turned to me.  
>"Don't!"<br>She stepped towards me, and crouched down, reaching for my ankle. I moved my foot around, as much as I could, the dog didn't let go, so it was hanging off my foot in the air. She grabbed my ankle, and I tried to pull my foot back. Unsuccessfully.  
>Akakaze took my shoe off my foot, and pulled it through the net, then stood up. Shiro jumped up on her, it sat on her shoulder almost like a bird, and gnawed on my shoe.<br>"Hey! Give it back!"  
>"No, it keeps Shiro happy."<br>"But it's mine!" I whined.  
>"Finders keepers, loser." Akakaze chuckled, she turned to Kiba, and the two of them left. Akamaru raised his hind leg near my head, and my eyes widened. I quickly pushed my fist through the netting, punching Akamaru away. He whined, then bit my hand. I almost wailed in pain.<br>"Akamaru! Come on!" Kiba called. Akamaru growled at me, before chasing after his master.  
>I was left there, laying on the ground, tangled in this net.<br>I tried pulling the chains apart, that didn't work. I tried slicing through them with a kunai, but I broke the handle off it, accidentally. I sighed.

After almost half an hour, I was beginning to feel lonely, and the sky was orange – sunset. That means I'm going to be late for dinner if I don't hurry and get out of this net.  
>I thought if I rolled deeper into the village, someone might notice me and help me. So, I began rolling. A few people saw me, gave confused expressions, and kept walking. Some community support this village has! I rolled down the main road, people were returning home, but still, they ignored me. Ino just walked straight past me! She didn't even glance in my direction or anything!<br>There had to be _someone_ that could help me. That's when I saw a familiar green figure approaching slowly. Now, was it Daisuke-kun, Lee-san, or Gai-sensei? I waited until he got closer, and I finally realised it was Gai-sensei, walking on his hands.  
>When he lifted his head, he saw me, and gave a questioning expression. I smiled nervously.<br>"Setsuki! What happened?"  
>"Kiba and... uh.. his friend, trapped me and stole my shoe!" I held my bare foot up, my toes twinkling.<br>"What?! Why would anyone do something so outrageous?!" He roared, puffing his chest out.  
>"You'll help me, right Gai-sensei!?" I was smiling, believing that he would.<br>"You got it!" Gai-sensei lifted one hand, and did his little nice guy pose. "A friend in need, of which I cannot just ignore! I must let my raging fires of youth power me up, and I will see justice prevail!"  
>I had a huge grin on my face, expecting him to pry the chains apart with his inhuman strength. But, he just rushed away, leaving behind a trail of dust of which I choked on. I looked in the direction he ran away in. "GAI-SENSEI!" I screamed. But it was pointless, he was already gone, my shouting probably wouldn't reach him now. Again, I was stuck. When I turned my attention to the sky, I realised that it was very cloudy, and it was getting darker by the minute. A storm? I panicked. "I DON'T WANNA BE STUCK OUT HERE IN A STORM!" I cried to no one in particular. No one around seemed to care either.<br>As soon as a drop of water hit my nose, I just thought of the best plan to escape. I used the water substitution jutsu, and dripped through the chains, and waited for my body to regenerate then I ran home before it started to rain heavily.

That night, when I was in bed, the wind was howling against the window, and I was freaking out, I kept having thoughts that there was monsters outside that were trying to get in.  
>Takashi came in to say goodnight, and told me there was nothing to be scared about. I calmed down and believed him. I closed my eyes, then jumped at a clap of thunder. Takashi had only made it to the door by then, and he sighed.<br>"Come on, go sleep on the couch, you wont be near a window there." He said. "Bring your blankets with you too."  
>I did as he said, and took my bedding into the living room and laid on the couch. I stared at the front door, a little paranoid... okay, <em>very<em> paranoid. Takashi's voice echoed through my mind, '_There is nothing to be scared about.. there is NOTHING to be scared about. NOTHING._'  
>I closed my eyes, feeling a little better, and more confident that there is nothing. Suddenly a cloud bang on the door, made me jump, and I screamed. The door burst open, a huge cloaked silhouette pulled something out of his pocket and held it into the air, I couldn't tell what it was, and it was too dark to see who it was. I was cowering, every hair on my body stood upright, and my eyes were wide. I wanted to scream as loud as I could, my whole body trembled.<p> 


	70. Chapter 70

**Chapter 70**

My heart was beating painfully fast, I stared petrified with fear at this silhouette, and whatever he was holding above his head.  
>"Setsuki!" The figure whispered in a raspy voice, I whimpered in response. "Setsuki I have something for you!" It stepped closer, I thought it was a ghost. Suddenly a flash of lightning lit up the figure for a brief second, it had a human face, the eyes were covered by the hood, and the teeth shined so brightly in a huge terrifying grin. A loud thunder clap sounded almost instantly after the lightning.<br>I screamed at the top of my lungs. My body was paralyzed in fear, and would not move.  
>"Setsuki!" the figure shouted in a more deeper and masculine tone than before. I was still screaming. The figure rushed to me, I froze even more, my whole life flashed before my eyes, I felt like crying.<br>The figure put its hand over my mouth, and my screaming became muffled. With its other hand, the one that was holding something, it removed the hood from its head, and another flash of lightning out up the room. My imagination went ballistic, imagining so many terrifying things, but as I so bravely looked at its head in the brief light, I felt like bursting into tears in relief. It was only Gai-sensei. My whole body was trembling.  
>"Setsuki, it is o-" he was cut off by a loud clap of thunder, which, again, caused me to scream. Gai-sensei quickly hauled me into a tight embrace. I felt safe in his grip.<br>I cried into his chest. I whined his name over and over.  
>"Setsuki, what ever is the matter?!"<br>"I'm so scared!" I cried.  
>Gai-sensei managed to calm me down, and sat me back on the couch. He lifted up what was in his hand, it looked ripped and utterly destroyed, whatever it was.<br>"I got your shoe back!" He said. I could've cried again. All this drama over a shoe.. Wait.. Those Inuzukas wrecked my shoe!  
>"T-Thanks Gai-sensei.." I whimpered.<br>"What on Earth is going on out here?!" Takashi's voice echoed as he entered the living room.  
>"Ah! Good morning Takashi-san!" Gai-sensei grinned, holding a thumbs up to his face.<br>"What the hell are you doing here at this hour?!"  
>Gai-sensei explained that he had 'hunted the hunters', hunters meaning Akamaru and Shiro, and it started to get stormy so he put on a huge coat so he wouldn't get sick. I cringed at that part, because I know he never allows Lee to carry an umbrella in the rain, or wear a coat, because it would mean he is weak. I glared at the coat he was wearing. He explained to me that the only exception to wearing coats (but strictly no umbrellas) was if there was a huge storm like this one. I have to remember those words next time.<p>

The next morning after waking up a little later than usual, since I didn't get much sleep from the thunder, I attempted to steal Takashi's toast, but I saw Gai-sensei in the kitchen, cooking. I got worried.  
>"Gai..sensei? What are you doing?"<br>"Aha! Good morning Setsuki! About time you woke up! The sun is already shining brightly outside! You slept in way past sunrise, therefore! Your punishment will be 600 laps around the village!" he roared.  
>I whined at first, complaining about the whole having a punishment thing, but then I thought, 600 laps isnt that bad!<br>"... On your hands!"  
>My jaw dropped. "WHAT?!"<br>"There will be no breakfast for you until you've done it!"  
>"But-"<br>"Now get going, start burning those youthful biceps! You need to feel alive with the burning passion of youth sweating from your body, the overpowering adrenaline-"  
>"BUT GAI-SENSEI!" I screamed over him. He grimaced at my interruption of this speech he has probably rehearsed thousands of times. I caught a scent of his cooking and felt nauseous. I think I would rather do the punishment than eat whatever that is he's cooking..<br>"What is it?!" he questioned at my hesitance.  
>"N-Nothing, I'll go run those 600 laps!"<br>"Good girl!"

I was very lucky too, the entire village was still wet from the heavy rain last night, so not only did it give me a speedy advantage, I also saved a lot of energy!  
>I completed the laps in an hour and a half, and by then I was indeed starving. When I returned home, Gai-sensei was already gone and Takashi wasn't home either. There was no food in the cupboards, so I'm assuming Takashi was off to buy more.<p>

After becoming severely bored of waiting for Takashi, I left the house in search of someone with food, since I had no money. The first person that came to my mind was indeed Choji.  
>I found him walking with Shikamaru.<br>"Choji-kun!"  
>"Huh? Oh hi Setsuki!"<br>Shikamaru hissed at the loud voices. "Quieten down! It's too early to be yelling!"  
>"Sorry Shikamaru." Choji apologized.<br>"Sorry.." I faced Choji again. "Choji-kun, can I have some chips?" I asked, eying off the chip packet in his hands.  
>Choji hesitated and stared down into the packet. "There is only one left.." he stated.<br>"I'll have it!" I grinned.  
>"Ohhh no you don't!" Choji growled defensively.<br>"Choji doesn't let anyone have the last chip.. Or really, the last bite of anything.. It's too troublesome."  
>"But.. I'm starving.." I whined. Shikamaru let out a loud sigh.<br>"We were on our way to the BBQ joint, you can tag along if you want.." He offered. I grinned, and held myself back from hugging him, because I know he doesn't like it.  
>"SETSUKI-CHAN!" Lee came out of no where, landing right beside me. "Gai-sensei said you were training! I wanted to join you!" he cheered.<br>"Training? Oh no, I wasn't training, I was... Yeah I was training, but I've finished now. I'm going to get breakfast with Shika-kun and Choji-kun! You should come along too, Lee-san! Shika-kun is paying!" I exclaimed. Shikamaru opened his mouth to retort, but Lee became excited about it and turned to Shikamaru.  
>"Thank you very much, Shikamaru-kun!" Lee cheered with a bow.<br>Shikamaru drew out a long groan, and muttered under his breath. "How troublesome.."

After our breakfast I felt just as sick as Lee did, we had an eating competition and Choji won, eating double the amount of Lee and I combined. I don't know how he did it. I'm pretty sure Lee and I were tied.  
>We thanked Shikamaru for paying for it all, then we set out in search of something to do.<br>"Setsuki-chan.."  
>"Yes Lee-san?"<br>"What happened to your shoe?"  
>I looked down at my feet and realized I've had one shoe on all this time. I sweatdropped. "Uh... Well it's a long story-"<br>"I know what you did!" Lee shouted, pointing his finger at me like I'd committed some sort of serious crime. I panicked. "You forgot to put it on! You are losing your mind, Setsuki-chan! We must help you regain your senses!" There was a distinct flame in his eyes.  
>"... No Lee-san, I'm not losing my mind-"<br>"Yeah, how can you lose something you never had?" Said a familiar Inuzuka's voice. Kiba.  
>"That is not a nice thing to say!" Lee exclaimed, now pointing his finger at Kiba.<br>"Bite me." Kiba scoffed. Suddenly, Lee slid behind Kiba and bit his ear. Kiba yelped and I was very surprised. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"  
>"You told me to-"<br>"You don't actually bite them you idiot! It's a figure of speech!"  
>I was holding back a laugh, and Lee noticed so his feeling of guilt disappeared. "Lee-san, it was Kiba and.. Uh.. That other girl who took my shoe last night! They destroyed it!" I exclaimed, again, forgetting that girl's name.<br>Lee looked astounded. "How could you do such a thing?! Especially to Setsuki-chan!"  
>"Hey, she just fell for our little prank, and Shiro liked her shoe so we took it." Kiba calmly explained.<br>"That is still not nice, to take something that does not belong to you!" Lee shouted. I kept nodding in agreement at everything Lee said, I was really admiring him right now, him standing up for me like this.. I really appreciated it.  
>Kiba merely rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah. Get out of the way now, I'm trying to give Akamaru a walk!"<br>"No!" Lee tapped his foot on the ground. "You can walk around us! We were here first!"  
>"What did you just say? Move before I bite you!"<br>I looked at Lee, we made eye contact, and we were both thinking the exact same thing.  
>"Dynami-"<br>"Leaf hurricane!" Lee cut me off and his foot smacked into my stomach as I was doing the dynamic entry kick. I went flying backwards with a grunt. As soon as he acknowledged his mistake, his eyes went wide with horror. I shut my eyes waiting for the impact when someone caught me, unexpectedly... No okay, they didn't catch me, I collided into them and landed on them.  
>I looked up quickly at the person, Daisuke. He didn't seem too upset about me crashing into him, he looked rather happy about it!<br>"My angel fell from heaven! She landed on me! Its a sign!" he cheered dreamily.  
>"Daisuke-kun?" I stood up slowly.<br>"Setsuki-chan!" Lee came running over to inspect the damage. Daisuke snapped out of his little daze and jumped to his feet, and brushed the dirt off himself.  
>"Oh god, there's four green freaks now.. What is with the gross fashion spreading?!" Kiba gushed.<br>"Hey!" Daisuke growled in a deep scary voice. He pointed at Kiba intimidatingly. "These are made of a very, VERY comfortable spandex, AND if you insult it ONE MORE TIME I will PUNCH YOU!"  
>Kiba didn't seem too threatened, instead he seemed even more confident. "Oh yeah? Well.. I think it's ugly.. And besides your handle is very much revealed.." he said with a snicker. Daisuke got an anime vein, but then looked down and his eyes widened in horror.<br>Lee and I looked too, Lee almost chuckled and I was very confused.  
>"D..Daisuke-kun.. Why do you have a scroll in your-"<br>"NO! IT'S NOT A SCROLL!" He quickly covered his crotch with both hands.  
>"What happened eh? Am I that attractive?" Kiba snickered. Akamaru barked in amusement.<br>I don't know why but I kind of felt like I should leave them to discuss whatever it is they're discussing.  
>"You wish you were!" Daisuke growled with a sense of high ego.<br>"Hey, I wouldn't talk dude, I have a girlfriend, and you don't!" Kiba scoffed.  
>"I'm working on it! ... Wait what?!" Daisuke questioned.<br>Kiba's eyes widened at what he just said, and he became flustered. "W-well I.."  
>"Pffft! You don't have a girlfriend, you're not cool enough!" Daisuke shouted.<br>"Cool?! You call those outfits cool?!"  
>"Yes! All three of us are way cooler than you, mutt!" Daisuke grinned. Kiba growled.<br>I thought I should say something, but I didn't think twice before speaking. "Kiba stole my shoe and destroyed it."  
>Daisuke immediately checked my feet. He then looked back at Kiba. "How dare you!" Daisuke immediately tackled Kiba to the ground. Kiba grunted and scratched at Daisuke. Akamaru went to bite Daisuke, and knowing how much his bites hurt, I had to stop him. But gently, I didn't want to hurt him. Suddenly Lee leaf hurricaned Akamaru and sent the poor mutt flying.<br>"Akamaru!" Kiba shouted. I would go after Akamaru to catch him, I would definitely have the speed to in this wet environment, but I didn't feel like it, so I didn't. Akamaru crashed into a dumpster.  
>Daisuke and Kiba were having a little cat fight. Lee jumped on them both, throwing punches and kicks, I didn't know if he was teaming up with Daisuke or just doing his own thing.<br>I stood there blankly watching. Do I cheer? Do I go and get ice cream? Oh! That sounds great! I picked up Daisuke's wallet that fell on the ground when I collided into him. "Daisuke-kun!?"  
>"Ye- OW YOU BASTARD! TAKE THIS! ... Yes, Setsuki-chwan?!"<br>"Can I use your money to buy some ice cream?"  
>"Of course you can my swee- OW! .. You can buy anything your heart desires my lo- OWW! BASTARD!"<br>"Aww! Thanks Daisuke-kun!" I ran off to get ice cream.

The ice cream shop was closed. I sadly returned to the fight. They were still going. I sighed.  
>Result: Lee and Daisuke bashed Kiba up, but they all had a black eye or two.<br>"You guys are so violent." I mentioned, walking over to them. Kiba was unconscious on the ground, the other two were sitting beside him, out of breath.  
>I said Daisuke's name to get his attention then I threw his wallet at him. "The ice cream shop was closed!" I complained.<br>"Oh.. Oh! Well never mind that, Setsuki! I can use this money to buy you new shoes!" Daisuke said. Lee grinned.  
>"Yes! That is indeed a fantastic idea Daisuke-kun!"<br>"You'd buy me new shoes? Really!?" I felt so happy. Takashi walked to us, carrying a few brown paper grocery paper bags.  
>"What are you lot up to today?" He asked, glaring at my bare foot.<br>"We're buying Setsuki-chan new shoes, Takashi-sama!" Both Lee and Daisuke chimed.  
>"... Alright."<br>"What's in the bags, uncle Takashi?" I asked.  
>"Food. You know, because your 'friend' burned all my ingredients and other food this morning when he was cooking."<br>"Gai-sensei?"  
>"Yes.. None of you, especially you, Setsuki, are to eat that man's cooking... It's inedible and will make you ill." Takashi stated.<br>"That's fine. I wouldn't even touch that glomp!" Daisuke said. Lee looked like he wanted to stand up and defend his sensei, but he already knew that Gai-sensei's food is inedible, so he stood there with an annoyed look.  
>"Well, off you go, stop standing around with naked feet, especially during this wet weather. I don't care if you can't feel it, but it doesn't mean you won't get sick, Setsuki." Takashi said. Suddenly Daisuke lifted me off my feet and grinned. My eyes went wide.<br>"I will protect her foot from the cold weather, Takashi-sama!" he declared, somewhat proudly.  
>"Do so quickly then!" Takashi grumbled, then started to walk away, Daisuke turned to walk and almost collided into Tekuno-sensei.<br>"Eep!" Daisuke squeaked, as he made himself quickly come to a halt.  
>"Woah, slow down guys." He said. Takashi half looked over his shoulder back at us.<br>"Teku-sensei, what're you doing here?" I asked.  
>"Eh, the Hokage has a mission for us." He said.<br>"Right _now_?!" Daisuke questioned.  
>"Yes.. is there a problem?"<br>"Well we were on our way to get Setsuki-chan new shoes!"  
>Without even looking at my feet, Tekuno-sensei shrugged his shoulders. "That can wait till after the mission, this mission is your squad's first A-rank mission."<br>"A-rank!? That sounds exciting!" I exclaimed. "Lets go!"  
>"Wait wait wait. I still haven't found Pineapple yet."<br>"Let me go in Pineapple-kun's place!" Lee shouted, not remembering who 'Pineapple' is. Tekuno-sensei looked at Lee, contemplating.  
>"Well.. I suppose it's up to the Hokage to decide that."<br>"Do you know anything about the mission?" Daisuke asked.  
>"Yeah, I got given some information, but not all of it.. now what was it?"<br>We all facepalmed. "You can't remember can you?" Daisuke grumbled.  
>"Oh oh! Wait, no, I remember!"<br>"Then tell us!"  
>"We are going to explore some ruins in search of traces of Orochimaru."<br>"O-Orochimaru!?"  
>"Yes, there was rumours that he was seen around this area, we need to gather as much information as we can."<br>"What kind of ruins?" Lee asked.  
>"An old village, got destroyed many years ago." Tekuno-sensei explained.<br>"An old village huh? Any idea of the name?" Daisuke asked. None of us realised that Takashi was still there, listening.  
>"Uhhm.. started with a K, I think."<br>Daisuke sighed. "Okay, well then, lets go!" Daisuke started to run, I clung to him so he wouldn't drop me, and Lee came running after us.  
>Takashi approached Tekuno-sensei before he turned to follow. "Just what is the name of this place, lad?"<br>"Huh? And, you are?" Tekuno-sensei asked.  
>"I am Setsuki's uncle.. you said this place was destroyed, how many years ago?"<br>"Uh, well, I'm not entirely sure to be honest. But probably like 8 or 9 years ago?"  
>Takashi tensed a little. "And started with a K, you said?"<br>"That's right. K-something Pass..?"  
>"K.. Kikyo Pass?"<br>"That's the one!"  
>Takashi's eyes widened.<br>"Thanks for reminding me, now I gotta get going, gotta catch up with those kid-"  
>"Wait!" Takashi lunged out and grabbed Tekuno-sensei's arm. He looked into Tekuno-sensei's eyes, sternly. "Do not let Setsuki go on this mission."<br>"Why not?"  
>"... Do not let her go on this mission." Takashi's eyes dropped. "I couldn't imagine how traumatised she would become at the sight..."<br>"Traumatised? Does she know of this place?"  
>"... I do not wish to speak of this. Bring Setsuki back to me, I will not allow her to go on this mission." Takashi looked back up, a more stern expression than before.<br>"Hey, I can't decide that. You can't either, you're not the Hokage."  
>Takashi clenched his fists.<p> 


	71. Chapter 71

**Chapter 71**

When Tekuno _finally_ arrived at Tsunade's office, we had to explain to her that Lee was coming instead of Susumu, and after some negotiations and a bottle of sake, she agreed.  
>She explained about our mission, it was basically what Tekuno-sensei said to us, but she didn't tell us the name of the old village, she just referred to it as ruins.<br>We left on our way, I forgot to get new shoes, so I was going on this mission with only one shoe on. But I'm sure it wont bother me.

During our journey there, we had encountered a trap, multiple paper bombs caused us to separate from each other.  
>I was running around trying to find someone. I found the ruins Tsunade was talking about. I tensed at the surroundings. I know them. They were so familiar, like they were a part of me. I couldn't remember exactly, but my heart was racing, and I felt nervous.<br>The sight and smells, I know them. The sounds of particular birds. I know them. I know this place.. As I came out of the forest-like area, I saw them. The collapsed buildings, the water tower. My breathing sped up, I felt like I was losing air. My heart beat started to hurt. My eyes started to sting. My lip started to quiver as I slowly got closer.  
>On top of a pile of stone, was a figure. I squinted my eyes to try and see. The person knew I was there, they turned to face me. I recognised the black coat. I stopped in my tracks. Kei.<br>His icy blue eyes glared down at me.  
>"What are you doing here?" He growled. I was speechless. Of all people.. I got into stance, though my body was trembling, and I don't think it was out of fear. "Don't bother messing with us.. kid."<br>I stepped forward, my legs felt sort of numb. I fought the tears that were trying to break through. I had to shake off this strange sensation, so I could fight properly.  
>"You're not even worth my time. Kill her." He said. Two bulky guys jumped out of no where, and attacked me. Kei vanished. I tried punching one, but it hurt my wrist so much. It was like they were made of steel!<br>"I think a fly touched me!" He mocked. I growled slightly, then I used my water snake jutsu on them, but it didn't do much. I had to get away, I had to regain my strength, since I was still trembling. One swung a punch, and I threw a smoke bomb. It was enough to allow me to escape. I sat in a nearby tree, staring at the two men, making sure they didn't know where I was.  
>They started bickering, and one of them punched the other out of rage. The other one punched back. Kei appeared out of no where and grounded them both at once. That man is scarily strong. He shouted at them for fighting, and pointed in my direction, as if pointed at the very tree I was in. They both looked in my direction. My heart skipped a beat, how did he know!? I had to get away.<br>"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Lee came out of no where and attacked those three. Kei easily caught his foot, as if expecting it. Lee continued to attack, over and over. My eyes were wide. He took down one of the bulky men, and proceeded to attack the other one. Kei merely stood there watching.  
>Lee took down both of the tough guys, and continued to attack Kei. As skilled as Lee was, he was no match for Kei's taijutsu. Kei's attacks were deadly and I was scared for Lee's safety.<br>Suddenly a huge kick from Kei, and Lee was sent flying backwards and smashed into the tree that I was in, causing a huge hole in it. Lee grunted in pain, he was out of breath, and up close I could see the bruises and cuts on his body, just from that fight.  
>Kei appeared out of no where in front of him. He seemed focused on Lee, perhaps he's forgotten about me! Nows my chance, I felt like I had gotten a grip on myself.<br>Kei drew a kunai. "Time to die." He threw it, Lee only barely managed to dodge it, but quickly fell to the ground in pain. Kei drew another kunai, I jumped down just in the nick of time, catching his wrist. "I was wondering when you planned on revealing yourself." He said. Lee looked up in surprise.  
>"S.. Setsuki..."<br>I tried to throw Kei, but he took his wrist back easily. "You lot are pathetic."  
>"W-What're you doing here?!" I questioned.<br>".. I'm here to destroy this place.. there will be no evidence of any village ever being here!" He said, he then put his hand in a jutsu sign, and muttered something under his breath. Suddenly the half of the remains of the buildings exploded, breaking to nothing at all. My eyes widened, I felt a pain in my heart.  
>"Stop it!" I cried, punching him. He didn't seem affected at all. He muttered the word again, more buildings exploded. The entire area went up in smoke and flames. "Stop it! Stop it!"<br>I grabbed his arm, and pulled it out of the jutsu sign, he kicked me hard, it hurt a lot, but I pulled through it, gritting my teeth.  
>"This place means a lot to you, doesn't it?" He said, I couldn't tell his expression, because of his mask.<br>"Stop destroying it!" I cried. He said the word again, more explosions. There would soon be nothing left at all.  
>"Pitiful." He simply said, before vanishing. A few more explosions sounded, and the ground shook. I fell to my knees, tears running down my face in terror.<br>Kei landed beside the two goons from earlier, and told them to finish us.  
>They came rushing over. Lee was getting back on his feet, ready for another round. Kei disappeared completely after that. One came directly for me. Lee kicked him out of aim, so he attacked the tree instead. I looked up at Lee, now using all his strength to hold back the other one. He gritted his teeth, and almost hissed as he spoke.<br>"S-Setsuki.. I will.. protect you.."  
>I stared up at him, so shocked and terrified. He was struggling, but he wasn't giving up.<br>"Aww, look, two little love rats. Think you're tough, don't cha?"  
>Lee growled under his breath, and managed to lift the big guy off his feet. "I will not.. allow you.. to hurt Setsuki-chan!" He threw the guy a fair way, then stood there panting, watching as the guy tumbled as he landed. The other one had got to his feet by now.<br>"I guess its true what they say. A cornered rat will bite." He snickered. I turned quickly, he was right behind me, aiming a huge punch. I raised my arms to block, but Lee quickly dived in front of me, and took the hit. The sound of his cry started to agitate me. I clenched a fist. I felt a heavy, boiling feeling in my stomach, something I've never felt before. I glared up at the person, I had a huge urge to really hurt this guy. I growled deeply, under my breath. Lee stumbled back onto his feet, standing in front of me.  
>I stood up too, carefully, my rib was aching from Kei's kick. I don't know what this tight feeling was, but I needed to unleash it. I roared as I built up strength in my arm, and punched the guy straight in the gut. He grunted and stumbled backwards a few steps.<br>"That was different.. from earlier.." He grumbled. Lee looked at me in surprise.  
>"Setsuki... chan..."<br>"Lee-san.. I'll.. handle it.." I said, almost in a growl. The guy recovered from cringing, and came running. I stood my ground, stomped my foot into the soil building up a huge punch. As soon as he was close enough, I ducked his kick, and drove my fist straight into his side, I felt a rib cage break in my knuckles, I don't know why.. but it felt good..  
>I then jumped up, and swung my foot, aiming for his head. "Leaf hurricane!" I smashed my heel into his face, I felt his nose crack on impact, he flew.<br>"S-Setsuki.. chan.." Lee was still whimpering my name, staring wide eyed with disbelief.  
>I ran at top speed to this guy, and just repeatedly hit him with punches over and over, I wasn't showing any mercy.<br>The guy finally collapsed, stopped moving, he was bleeding everywhere. I stood there, staring down at him. Then I finally realised, I had done this. His blood was on my hands. I looked down at my palms, sweaty and covered in blood. They were shaking. That tight, boiling feeling my gut was gone.  
>Lee limped over to me, and put his hand on my shoulder. I quickly looked at him, worried. Worried about both him, and what I had just done. I had killed someone with just my bare hands...<br>"Setsuki-chan.. it is okay.." He said. I felt calmed, hearing his voice, and those words. He had the most worried expression, possibly matching mine.  
>"I-I don't.. know what came over me.." I said, almost whimpering pathetically.<br>"Do not.. worry about it.." Lee was in pain, but trying to hide it. Each breath he took was painful, the injury he sustained from Kei in his rib, was hurting him badly. I could tell from his voice. "You only.. lost your temper.. it is understandable.." He explained, his grip on my shoulder tightened. I put my arm around his waist, and slowly helped him to sit down again.  
>"L-Lee..."<br>If only I had've helped out sooner, Lee might not have been hit so badly.. I felt terrible, I watched him take on these 3 strong opponents, and did nothing to help.  
>Lee grabbed my hand, he could see my thoughts through my expression. He gripped it tightly, once I looked back at his face, he shook his head slowly, the corner of his lips were curved, he was giving the softest smile.<br>"Set..suki.. chan.. you.. did great.." He said. His grip tightened even more. I put my hand over his, trying to comfort him. I was worried, I was panicking. His eyes slowly closed, but he kept breathing.  
>"L-Lee!" It was no good, he was out. Unconscious. It was then I felt a cold, sharp point touch the back of my neck. I tensed in fear. I had forgotten about the other one.<br>"I don't like getting pushed around by a couple of kids. Your time is up." He snickered. He was going to stab that kunai right through my neck. I gulped, my whole life flashed before my eyes.  
>"You could try that, but it wouldn't be very smart of you.." A very familiar voice said. The voice itself made my heart jump. The guy grunted, the kunai pulled back from my neck and dropped on the ground. Then there was a thud, where the guy fell over. I dared look over my shoulder. The guy's eyes were rolled half way back into his skull, it made my stomach churn, so I turned my attention to the other person. I couldn't believe my eyes.<br>He was standing there, cleaning a syringe with a cloth, wiping blood from it, he had stabbed that syringe into that guy's neck and killed him with whatever substance that was. His glasses reflected in the light, making his eyes impossible to see.  
>"You had me worried, Setsuki.." He said. I whimpered, I stood up, ready to give him the biggest hug of my life.<p> 


	72. Chapter 72

**Chapter 72**

In fact, I did, I hastily threw my arms around him, I clung to him tightly, making him drop the syringe. I landed on the ground, out of harms way.  
>"Takashi!" I cried, burying my face into him. He wrapped his arms around me just as tightly.<br>"I was worried sick!" He said.  
>"W-What're you doing here?" I asked, looking up at him, without letting go.<br>"I came to find you.. and its a good thing I did."  
>"How did you know where I was?!"<br>"... I know that your mission was based here, and I have never forgotten the way here." He said. He looked around at disgust with the damage that Kei did to it. "Come with me.." He took my wrist.  
>"What about Lee?!" I questioned.<br>"He'll be fine. He just needs to rest. I'll treat his wounds before we leave." He said, then pulled me away. I followed him, into the ruins. The smoke had disappeared and the air was settled.  
>He took me to a particular house, there was only one wall standing, the rest was piles of rubble. On the outside was a table, and on it were 5 photo frames. Each one had small lotus flower shaped candles. Takashi stopped, and held his hand out, gesturing for me to go forward. I walked towards this table, my eyes widened. From left to right, a photo of my father, my mother, my sister Kaori, Auntie Megumi, and one that was face down. I hesitantly lifted it up, it was a picture of Kabuto. My heart felt heavy. Takashi must've came here recently and built this..<br>His hand placed on my shoulder. "I didn't want to show you this.. I've been coming here since that day... I built this many years ago.. the candles I lit way back then have never extinguished." He explained. Just seeing my parents' faces, and my sister.. it made my heart ache, my eyes burned and shed tears.  
>I prayed with Takashi. For a very long time. I felt a warm presence, like I was being comforted by the air itself.<p>

When we eventually returned to where Lee was resting, I rubbed my eyes, and smiled. I had a strange feeling inside, that made me believe that my family was happy.  
>I knelt down beside Lee, I caressed his cheek. His hair blew gently in the breeze. He looked so peaceful. Takashi stood there and watched as I lowered my forehead to touch his. I closed my eyes, blinking out the last tear.<br>I kind of felt like Lee belonged to our family, and I believed that no matter what, I would be here for him. I moved my hand down to his chest, feeling his soft heart beat against my palm.  
>I felt a hand rest on mine. I opened my eyes quickly, not expecting that. Lee was staring right into my eyes, his expression still soft. He still had that small smile. My heart raced.<br>"Setsuki.." He said, his voice was calm, gentle, showing no signs of pain. I just continued staring into his eyes. "I'm glad you're safe.." His hand raised up, and cupped my cheek. He wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb. His cheeks seemed to turn a light red. "I suppose.. now is the best time.. to say it.." He cleared his throat.  
>"Say what..?" My voice was croaky.. he moved his thumb over my lips, as if to shush me.<br>"I.. I love you.. Setsuki.." He said. My eyes widened.  
>"L-Lee.."<br>"I.. have for quite some time.. but.. I didn't know how.. to..." His voice trailed off. I don't know why, but I.. kind of felt relieved..? My stomach felt light and churned, my heart was beating so fast it almost felt like it wasn't beating at all. Is this.. what love feels like..? The feeling that I'm getting.. it's like I want to be with Lee.. I want to be close to him. I feel comfortable being close to him..  
>I closed my eyes, the smallest smile came across my face. I felt so happy. I felt Lee's other hand snake around my back, he tried to pull me down into a sort of hug. I sat properly and leaned down on him, but being careful not to lean on him too much, I didn't want to stir up his wounds.<br>"Setsuki-chan.. please.." He stopped to clear his throat, so his voice was even. "Please be my girlfriend.. I promise I'll protect you.. with my life.."  
>I opened my eyes again, looking into his. My cheeks felt hot. I opened my mouth to respond, but then two other figures approached, interrupting.<br>"Setsuki!" Daisuke's voice called. I slowly lifted myself from Lee and glanced over at him. He was covered in dirt and had some small scratches here and there, but otherwise fine, and the same with Tekuno-sensei.  
>Lee tried to sit up, but Takashi knelt down and stopped him. Takashi told Lee that he would look at his wounds and clean them up.<br>We sat around while Takashi was doing this, Tekuno kept giving Takashi a questioning look as to why he was here, but Takashi never looked in his direction. Daisuke explained to us that he and Tekuno-sensei saw a figure in a black coat sprint past them, almost knocking them out in a single strike, but they managed to barely dodge him. I knew they were talking about Kei.  
>"He destroyed more of the relics here." I said. "Daisuke-kun, Lee-san, Teku-sensei, this place was... where I was born."<br>Takashi remained silent as he bandaged Lee's stomach. Daisuke frowned slightly, and put his hand on my shoulder comfortingly. I continued to tell them about what I could remember as a child, the memories of Kabuto and I always getting into mischief, especially scaring off all of Kaori's boyfriends. I told them about mum and dad, and how dad was the best dad I could ever ask for.. Takashi mentioned that Kaori was mummy's girl and I was daddy's girl. I don't remember much of mum, I was always around dad. I don't remember the place being destroyed though, that's where I stopped talking.  
>"My wife, Megumi, she always hated me going away on my fishing trips.. but you know, I was naïve, I needed breaks from my job. I was one of the top doctors back in the day-"<br>"No, you were _the_ best doctor!" I commented. Takashi gave a soft smile.  
>"Anyway, Setsuki decided she wanted to come with me one time.. she wanted to see what the water was like, and with permission from Shou-san, I took her with me. Kabuto wanted to come too, and I was more than willing to bring him along, but my wife refused." Takashi knotted up the bandage, and leaned back, taking his glasses off. "So, the two of us went off." He cleaned his glasses on his shirt. "Off fishing for a good 2 weeks. When we returned.." Takashi held up the glasses to the light, inspecting them before putting them back on. He was silent. "Home.. wasn't here anymore."<br>Everyone tensed. I felt my eyes water, I wanted to get the memory out of my head.  
>"We found no survivors... I had Setsuki sit there... while I buried them..." He was holding himself back from getting emotional. I could sense it in his tone. He cleared his throat and grabbed another gauze from his medical bag, and applied it to a cut on Lee's thigh. I tried not to picture the memory, I tried to let it pass. "But of all people.. the one person I could not find.. was my son.. Kabuto.."<br>There was a moment of silence. Takashi stood up. "After hearing that he's alive and well.. well that made me so much happier. I don't care if he _is_ working for some psycho maniac, the point that he is alive is enough to satisfy me." He looked over at me, and I nodded in agreement. I stood up, Daisuke and Tekuno-sensei did too. I helped Lee up, and I helped him walk back to the village.

We reported our mission to Tsunade, and she sent out some ANBU squads to gather more intel on Orochimaru.  
>We had to force Lee to go to the hospital so he could be treated again, even though Takashi did a really good job of it. Of course Lee hated it, so he was trying to escape when he could.<br>Afterwards life went back to normal. Every day involved training and missions, in our spare time, more training or eating competitions.  
>For 2 and a half years, we continued our lives this way. Nothing huge happened again for quite some time. But the one thing, that I regretted, was that I never answered Lee's question. It had completely slipped our minds..<p> 


	73. Chapter 73

**Chapter 73**

Wow, so much time slipped past, and quickly too. Everyone our age were Chuunin, and Neji was a Jonin!  
>I was currently on a mission with Daisuke and Susumu, Tekuno-sensei wasn't with us, he had another mission to be on. In fact since we've become Chuunin, we haven't seen much of Tekuno-sensei anymore.<br>We were in Sunagakure, collecting herbs and other materials for the Hokage. On our way in there were a lot of ANBU guarding the village, and it took us 40 minutes before we managed to get into the village, because of their interrogations on our identity.  
>The security is very tight here, I don't think even a fly could get by unnoticed.<br>Anyway, we managed to get through, so we looked around for this shop. Susumu insisted that we ask for directions, but Daisuke and I refused, we knew we would find it eventually.  
>"I could always create heaps of clones and have them search!" I exclaimed.<br>"No, that would just upset the people here, don't go using any jutsu while we're here. We might even stay the night, it'll take us another three days to get home." Susumu said. His hair had grown down to his mid-back, and he barely tied it up anymore, so it just flowed around in the wind. My hair had grown to the same length too, I had been putting off a haircut for quite some time now, but I didn't really pay attention. I would get it cut soon, but in the meantime, I just tied it into a rough ponytail. As for Daisuke, his hair was still the same bushy hairstyle he's always had.  
>"This way!" I said, leading them into a random street. This was my first ever time coming to Suna, and it was nothing like I expected. I felt excited, exploring a new place.<br>"Are you sure..?"  
>"Nope!"<p>

We finally found it, after wasting a lot of time. Susumu asked directions, and we were pointed in the right spot.  
>We collected the herbs and chatted with the elderly woman. We decided to find a nice hotel, and book a room. I decided I would take the biggest bed. It was a double, and there was a single bed. Two beds. Three of us. I jumped onto the double bed, and laid on it. Daisuke grumbled and sat on the end.<br>"Let me sleep with you, Setsuki-chan!"  
>"No! You sleep with Susumu-kun or on the floor!" I exclaimed. He whined. The sun was getting ready to set. The sky was a nice orange.<br>Daisuke glared at Susumu walking over to the other bed. He ran over and tackled Susumu away from it.  
>"Don't even think about it!" He growled, reaching for the bed.<br>Susumu returned the glare, and grabbed his wrist. "No you don't! It's _mine_!"  
>I laid there happily, my hands behind my head. I could fall asleep. The sun was disappearing, the room was getting darker.<br>What seemed like an hour passed, and the sun was gone. Daisuke and Susumu were still wrestling on the floor. I was almost asleep.  
>By the time I did manage to fall asleep, Daisuke and Susumu ended up knocking each other out, so they were passed out on the floor.<br>Strange noises were heard outside, but none of us paid any attention, we were too busy sleeping.

A huge explosion woke us all up. We looked out the window, and there was a huge ball of smoke in the sky, there were also many Suna ninja staring around, staring at the ball of smoke, their expressions showed anxiety.  
>As soon as the smoke disappeared, there was a huge sphere of hardened sand, floating in the sky.<br>"Hey, should we go see what's going on?" Susumu asked.  
>"Yes!" Daisuke answered. We ran outside, and stood behind a bunch of Suna ninja.<br>"What's going on?" Susumu asked, but his question was ignored. A huge sand figure, that looked like the claws of the Shukaku, surrounded a small white bird in the sky.  
>The bird crashed into it, and the sand surrounded it quickly, forming another sphere.<br>We watched in amazement. We heard some ninja talking.  
>"Yeah! As long as Kazekage-sama is here, our village is safe!"<br>Suddenly a huge explosion created a hole in the second sphere, and a person came flying out, sand pursued him, grabbed his foot, and threw him at the other sphere, however this person seemed to summon another white bird, and the Shukaku claw followed it.  
>"Who's that guy?!" Daisuke questioned.<br>"I think it's an Akatsuki member!" A sand ninja shouted. We gasped.  
>"A-Akatsuki!? What're they doing here?!" I asked.<br>"I think they're after Gaara.." Susumu said. Everyone looked at him. "I don't know if its true or not, but I heard the Akatsuki are after the Tailed Beasts.."  
>"Why on Earth!?" The ninjas all stared up at the sand grabbing at the guy on the bird.<br>The bird lowered and flew through the streets, he flew straight past us, he ripped his arm off to escape the sand, it made us cringe. We watched as he returned to the skies.  
>"What can we do!?" Daisuke questioned.<br>"I don't think we can do anything.. this is the Kazekage's fight.." Susumu grumbled.  
>"We have to help!" I exclaimed.<br>"Don't!" Susumu retorted, holding his arm out in front of me. "You'll only get in the way. This is an S-Rank criminal we're talking about, Setsuki.. I'm sure even _you_ can understand just how dangerous that is.."  
>I looked at Susumu straight in the eye. "Hold my jacket." I said, unzipping my flak jacket.<br>"You leave that on, missy! That is your symbol of- oh forget it." Daisuke groaned. "Setsuki, see if you can minimise the impact of his explosions with your water!"  
>"Wow! You <em>do<em> have a brain in there, huh?" Susumu scoffed.  
>"Now's not the time, Susumu! Setsu-...ki?" Daisuke realised I was gone, and gone I was. I jumped off the building, ran across the street as fast as I could, then jumped up onto the highest building I could find – the Kazekage's tower.<br>Now I just had to get my water to actually _reach_ this girl on the bird. I rolled up my imaginary sleeves, let my jacket fly around in the wind and mentally boosted my confidence. '_I can do this!'._  
>Into the air I jumped, I tried hopping across the sand floating in the sky, but it wasn't enough to support my weight, so I fell. Pretty far. It was pretty high..<p>

"SUMMONING JUTSU!"

Within a huge cloud of white smoke, Keahebi's head shot up from the ground, and I landed on it. Oh, I forgot to mention, Keahebi is massive now. His head alone was at least half the size of the Kazekage's tower itself.. the strange part, is that Keahebi is still only maturing.. he'll probably grow 3 times his current size over time.  
>Keahebi's hissing echoed through the village, attracting the attention of everyone, including Gaara and the woman.<br>"My my, un. I thought that was one of that damned Orochimaru's experiments, hm." The woman commented.  
>"Keahebi, take me higher! I need to drench her in water!" I said.<br>Keahebi obediently followed my orders, allowing me to get close to them. The woman flew circles around Keahebi's head, as if trying to provoke him.  
>Gaara's sphere of sand levitated to where I was. "What are you thinking..?!" He spoke in an agitated tone, it sent shivers down my spine.<br>"D-Don't worry, Gaara! I'm gonna help fight!" I said.  
>"Don't be a fool.." He merely said, then a Shukaku arm shot out of the spear, almost hitting the woman. She flew up high into the air, smirking. She had something planned.<br>Gaara and I watched as she dropped something, it was small to start with, but after a handsign, it became huge. It was a massive sculpture of some sort. It began to fall.  
>Gaara became panicked, he raised his hands, sand from the village began rising into the sky somewhat slowly.<br>"It's a bomb." Keahebi stated. My eyes widened.  
>"B-but something this huge could destroy the entire village!" I exclaimed.<br>"I'm.. aware of that.." Gaara said, his tone gave away that he was struggling. I sensed this, I could tell this wasn't going to end well.  
>"Let me help!" I performed some handsigns. This was going to be a big jutsu, so I had to be careful not to use up all my chakra.<br>The ground shook below us, some cracks appeared in the hardened clay-like sand of the streets... but no water rose from them.  
>"Fool you cannot.. use water ninjutsu.. here.." Gaara growled, focusing on what he was doing. "We're.. in a desert... there's no.. natural water source.."<br>I felt like an idiot. I really did.

The bomb was falling fast, and at the rate Gaara was building some defence with the sand, wasn't going to be fast enough.  
>I felt weak and nauseous, my legs felt numb and one fell limp, causing me to fall to my knees. I just wasted a huge amount of chakra. I looked up again, the defence, as much as Gaara was trying, wasn't going to be enough. I just knew it.<br>"Setsuki!" Daisuke called, running up Keahebi's spine, followed by Susumu.  
>"Get.. back.. all of.. you.." Gaara hissed through his tightly clenched teeth. We faced him with great concern.<br>The giant bomb was just above us now, if that thing exploded.. we'd probably die..  
>Daisuke quickly grabbed me by my waist and hoisted me up onto his shoulder, and both him and Susumu sprinted down Keahebi's spine, racing for the ground.<br>"What about Gaara?!" Daisuke questioned, giving Susumu a serious look.  
>"I.." Susumu trailed off, looking up at the sand sphere Gaara was hiding in. "He'll be okay.. I think.."<br>"You _think_!?" Daisuke scoffed, but there was no time to reply, because one word from Claybanger's mouth commanded the enormous bomb to explode.  
>The impact was devastating, we felt a majority of the force from the height we were at, which threw us at the ground harshly.<p>

Once the dust and smoke cleared, everyone was able to see what had happened. Gaara had somehow managed to create a big enough sand shield that protected the entire village from any harm.  
>The floating sphere was still there, which meant Gaara was okay..<br>Daisuke rose slowly, wincing in pain as a new injury started to bleed from his thigh, from smashing it against a hard rock on the ground. Susumu obtained a gash on his forehead from hitting the ground, and I was perfectly fine, why? Because I landed on some random Suna ninja.  
>"Th-thanks." I breathed, feeling too exhausted to move. But I had to get up, even though it stung to move. I sat there and looked up at the damage. Keahebi had disappeared, avoiding any injury from the explosion.<br>Everyone in the village cheered and encored Gaara for his heroic efforts. "Oh, no! Gaara!" Kankuro's familiar voice sounded. I glanced over at where he was standing, his eyes were fixed on the very sphere his little brother was sheltering in.  
>I returned looking at the sky, at Gaara, sand from his sphere was dropping, and rapidly. Kankuro ran far enough, until he was under it, perhaps he was intending to catch Gaara if he fell? If that was so, catching Gaara would be a long shot, because of how high he was. No one could jump that high. I pulled myself to my knees reluctantly, scanning the area, searching for my two blondies.<br>There was Daisuke, a few metres away, and beside him, Susumu, laying on the ground, barely moving. I struggled as I ran to him.  
>"D-Daisuke!" My body was shaking furiously, the pain was a mixture of numbness and like thousands of small needles, stabbing everywhere.<br>"Setsuki! There you are!" Daisuke stepped towards me, apparently oblivious to Susumu's motionless body. "Are you okay? Are you hurt!? Why are you shaking!?"  
>"I'm.. fine.." I lied, facing Susumu, worried. "I-Is Susumu.."<br>Daisuke turned to Susumu and seemed to panic. "Oi!" Daisuke dropped to his knees, and shook Susumu roughly by his shoulder. "Wake up dammit! This is no time to rest!"  
>I was too focused on Susumu to see what had happened to Gaara.<p>

We were taken to the infirmary, Susumu's gash on his forehead was stitched up and had a gauze bandaged to it, Daisuke's thigh was treated and had to be disinfected because of the rock may have infected his leg. It was a painful process, and they didn't give him anaesthetic, so his screams echoed through the main hall. As for me... I was asleep. The fatigue caught up to me, and I passed out half way to the infirmary.

When I woke up, I disliked the view of the hospital. I knew I needed to get out as quickly as I could. My memory was a bit of a blur, I don't remember much before passing out. I sat up and looked around. The room was tiny, almost like a bedroom rather than a hospital room. There was a bedside table with three drawers, and a ceramic vase with a distinct pattern on it, holding withering flowers. On the other side of the bed was an IV stand, holding a plastic bag of blood, seeing the blood made me cringe. My eyes ran along the small clear tube attached to it, the blood was easily seen inside of it. The tube ended, attached to the inside of my elbow, with a small piece of tape over it. I cringed.  
>A needle... sticking into me...<br>My eyes began to water, I let out a huge scream at the top of my lungs. A curtain was pulled back quickly, revealing that the room wasn't actually a room, it was just a bed inside of a U-shaped curtain. A medical ninja faced me.  
>"What is it!?" She questioned.<br>"M-My arm!" I sobbed. She looked at the IV cord, then shook her head.  
>"It's just keeping your blood levels normal. You were lacking a bit of blood and-"<br>"I don't like it!" I cried loudly. My body did feel a little strange.  
>"Well I can unhook it if you really want to.." She said.<br>"Yes! Take it out! Take it out!" I begged. She walked over, and took hold of my arm.  
>"Hold still then." She peeled off the tape. I looked at it, sticking into me, it made me nauseous. "... You don't have to watch.. you <em>can<em> look away." She said. I took her advice and immediately looked away, covering my mouth with my hand, trying not to vomit.  
>She pulled it out and my arm tingled. She gasped as if something was wrong.<br>"W-What's wrong?!" I questioned.  
>"N-Nothing!" She stuttered, quickly applying a gauze to my elbow and taping it down. She scurried out in a hurry. My elbow hurt, I couldn't move it. I also felt like I needed water. A huge amount of water. My mouth was dry and tasted like sand and salt.<br>I could hear that medical nin talking from behind the curtain, to possibly another medical nin.  
>"Are you sure that was the right blood type?" She questioned.<br>"For the blue haired girl? Her blood type _is_ A. But her blood was abnormal... it was almost like water.. a really watered down blood.. I've never seen anything like it, to be honest." A male voice responded.  
>Did they screw up my blood system!? Is that why I feel so weird?!<p> 


	74. Chapter 74

**Chapter 74**

I felt something wet dripping down my upper lip, so I used my hand to wipe it off. Glancing down at my hand, I saw red. My eyes widened at the sight of the red liquid, and my lip beneath my nose still felt wet. Blood dripped down onto my shirt and onto the blanket.  
>I searched the room for a box of tissues, but I couldn't find any. What kind of a hospital doesn't have tissues.<p>

"Help!" I called, hoping to attract some attention. My plea was granted by that same medical nin who had tended to me earlier.  
>"Ah! Your nose is bleeding!" She stated.<br>"I know! Help!" I whined, holding my hand under my nose. My arm felt heavy though, I couldn't explain it. My muscles were starting to feel tingly, which caused my arm to shake.  
>The woman took out a cloth and held it beneath my nose. "Hold that there until your nose stops bleeding." She said.<br>I didn't really respond as she walked out. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, thats when I remembered everything that had taken place prior to me fainting.  
>"Daisuke! Susumu! Gaara!"<p>

I ran around the room, searching for them. Though my muscles were still tingly, I ignored the feeling until I found them. Two doors down from the room I was placed in, was Daisuke, sitting up in his bed, nagging at a medical nin, and beside him, was Susumu, still sleeping.  
>"Daisuke!" I chirped, gliding to his bed.<br>"Setsuki-chan! There you are! I was- wait, your nose is bleeding!" He said.  
>"I know." I replied. The medical nin he was with, looked at me.<br>"You shouldn't be running around." He said. He forced me down onto the chair, then left the room. I immediately stood up again.  
>"Setsuki.. you look rather red in the face.." He mentioned. I tilted my head, still holding the cloth beneath my nose. "You were dreaming about me, right?" He smirked.<br>"No.. I don't remember what I was dreaming about." I said.  
>"Don't try to hide it.. I know you were. Look at me, I'm irresistable, right?" He flashed a grin at me. It looked really.. attractive.<br>"Okay." I said, sitting down. Daisuke coughed.  
>"Okay? Okay!? Setsuki! Love me!" He pleaded.<br>"I do." I said.  
>"You do?! Really!?"<br>"Uh huh. You're one of my bestest friends, Daisuke-kun~" I chimed.  
>"... this... again.." He mumbled, sulking pitifully.<p>

Susumu finally woke up, by then I was feeling lightheaded and dizzy, so I was leaning against the wall with my eyes shut. Daisuke kept sulking to himself the entire time, pressing his fingers together while pouting.  
>"Ngh..." Susumu groaned, waking up.<br>"Its about time you woke up.." Daisuke huffed.  
>"Princess..?"<br>Daisuke glared.  
>I heard shuffling, I assumed Susumu was sitting up.<br>"Yeah, and- woah! Setsuki!" I opened an eye to look at him. "Y-Your skin is turning red! Are you sunburnt?!"  
>"I.. could be.." I said. Though, I've never been sunburnt before, so I wouldn't know. The desert sun was highly likely to give us all sunburn I think.<br>"Gaara was taken! He was taken by that Akatsuki!" A voice called from outside. We all sat up straight, shocked.  
>"Taken by the Akatsuki!?" Susumu questioned.<br>"Oh damn.." Daisuke grumbled. "Such a shame.. oh well.."  
>"We have to go save him!" I said, not thinking.<br>"Now now, wait just a minute, Setsuki." Daisuke said, looking at me. "I thought you didn't like him!"  
>"I don't! But We still have to save him!"<br>"Aren't you scared of the guy?" Susumu mentioned.  
>"N-No!"<br>"Don't you think we should contact home, first? Before we go rushing into anything.."  
>"I hate to admit it, but you <em>do<em> have a point, pine." Daisuke grumbled. Pine was Susumu's new nickname, its short for Pineapple.  
>"Stop it. Just.. just stop it." Susumu grumbled, I'm pretty sure he was getting fed up with all the nicknames over the years.<br>"What'cha gonna do about it? Pine?"  
>Susumu shot a glare to Daisuke. I cleared my throat. "We need to save Gaara!" I repeated.<br>"We will, but we need to contact Konoha first!" Susumu said.  
>"Why? That'll take forever!" I exclaimed.<br>"We might need back up!"  
>"But what about Suna? Don't we have them as back up?" I asked.<br>"Well.. we could, but.."  
>Some shouting was heard outside of the room. I stood up to investigate, my entire body felt tingly, so walking and even moving, felt awkward. I opened the door half way, and stared out. Some Suna ninja came running, wheeling a stretcher with a body on it to the emergency room.<br>"What is it, Setsuki?" Susumu asked. My eyes widened as I recognised the Kabuki facepaint.  
>"I-Its Kuro-kun!" I exclaimed. I hadn't seen the puppeteer for three years, but I still recognised him.<br>"Kuro..?"  
>"I think she means Kunkuto..." Daisuke corrected.<br>"Kankuro." I said, facing them.  
>"S-Setsuki, your eyes are red.."<br>"They are? Well.. they do kind of sting a little, its probably the sand." I said, rubbing my eyes.  
>"Setsuki, come and lay on the bed." Susumu said.<br>"No."  
>"This one, you fool. Not mine." Susumu huffed. I turned to him, and saw an unoccupied bed between them. I considered it for a fraction of a second.<br>"No." I repeated.  
>"Stupid Pine! If Setsuki lays on any bed, its mine!" Daisuke roared.<br>"Idiot." Susumu grumbled.  
>"Doll face."<br>"Bird brain."  
>"Cat fish."<br>"Sloth."  
>"Hey!" Daisuke growled.<br>"Fish lips." I said. To the both of them. They looked at me. I looked at them. Silence befell.

Next thing I knew, I was chained to the unoccupied bed between them. I tried to break out of the chains using force, I tried melting them with the hot water bottle, I tried even gnawing through them. But I did not prevail.  
>"Let me out!" I pleaded.<br>"No!" Susumu grumbled. He was now out of bed, pacing back and forth very slowly from the window to the end of his bed.  
>"Setsuki! Of course I'll let you out!" Daisuke grinned.<br>"You will!?" My eyes glistened.  
>"As long as you kiss me first!"<br>"What kind of ridiculous-"  
>"Okay!" I said, cutting Susumu off. They both looked at me, staring full of shock. I didn't think about what I said.. did I..<br>Daisuke immediately lunged out of his bed, but quickly stumbled onto the ground, whimpering because of his leg.  
>Susumu burst out laughing, and I kept a straight face. "You're never gonna lose your virg-"<br>"No! Shut it Pine!" Daisuke squeaked, as he pulled himself up.  
>"Or have you already..?" Susumu smirked.<br>"What? NO! I'm saving myself for Setsuki!"  
>"Yeaaah whatever."<p>

The day seemed to last forever. The three of us remained locked in the room, for almost three days. On the third day, early in the morning, the village was rather silent. I wondered constantly about what happened to Gaara, and whether Kankuro was okay.  
>I felt completely immobilised, my chest and stomach felt so heavy, and I found it hard to breathe, and I didn't know why. Daisuke kept mentioning that my skin was red, but we continued thinking it was sunburn.<br>Susumu's forehead was now just a small line, and was starting to scab. Daisuke's leg was still just as bad, he keeps accusing the medics of not treating it properly.  
>We heard some shouting outside. Susumu opened the door and peeked outside. The voices were a muffle. They seemed to be coming from another room.<br>"All we can do is kill the pain.."  
>"Mhm.. all we can do is put our hope in the Konoha shinobi who are on their way right now. If there's a poison specialist among them... Of course, it wont matter if Kankuro can't hold out until then."<br>Then a familiar, deep voice spoke. "Right now, the Konoha group is unable to proceed due to a violent sand storm. In the worst, they'll be a few days late." It sounded like that Baki guy..  
>"Then it's hopeless.."<br>"How pathetic.. I never thought there'd be a day when all I could do was wait for help from Konoha.."

Susumu turned to us. "An old couple just came out of that room over there, they're sitting in the hallway." He remarked.  
>Daisuke sat up. "Who's in that room?"<br>"I dunno, but it seems like someone's been poisoned, and they're waiting on a group from Konoha to save them, but they're trapped in a sand storm.. so they could be a few days late. That's what I heard."  
>"There's another group already coming?" Daisuke asked.<br>"Kankuro!" A woman screamed. Loud footsteps came running down the hall, a group of people were running. Susumu immediately turned his attention back outside. He gasped slightly.  
>"What is it?" Daisuke asked.<br>"Its Naruto! Him, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei and Temari just ran past!" Susumu exclaimed. I wanted to sit up, I really did. But I couldn't, and I was getting worked up, I wanted to move, but the more I tried, the harder it was to breathe. Susumu ran out, and Daisuke stood up, grabbing a crutch.

Inside the room, Kakashi immediately paused, when that old lady came charging at him. "Curse you..!" She cried, lunging at him. "Prepare to die!"  
>Naruto quickly created clones and blocked the old lady's attack.<br>"Why the hell are you attacking Kakashi-sensei, you wrinkly old bitch?!" Naruto gushed.  
>"Konoha's White Fang! How dare you, you wretched scum..?" The old lady growled. "How I've longed to avenge my son! This is for him!"<br>"Um, I'm not..."  
>"No excuses!"<br>"Take a closer look, Nee-chan..." An elderly man stepped in front of her. "He does resemble the White Fang, but that's not him."  
>The old lady stared at Kakashi for a moment, confused.<br>"Hello!" Kakashi chirped, waving.  
>"Besides, Konoha's White Fang died a long time ago." The old man said. "Remember? When you heard, you got really angry and started screaming about how you hadn't avenged your son yet. Isn't that right, Nee-chan?"<br>"Just kidding!" She laughed. "I was just pretending to be senile!"  
>Suddenly the silence was broken by a painful wail, Kankuro arched his back off the bed, grabbing at his throat.<br>"I'll take a look at him!" Sakura exclaimed. I think that was the last I heard, until I passed out.


	75. Chapter 75

(I would just like to thank you all for your support for helping me have the motivation to write this story, because I really enjoy it! And by the way, at the end of this chapter, which I was up writing at 2am today, I was in tears and sobbing.. I'll let you find out why.. :3)

**Chapter 75**

I don't know how much time had passed. But I woke up what felt like an eternity later. There were soft voices whispering. I opened my eyes slowly, a bright light stung my eyes, which caused me to hiss through my teeth and turn my head away from them.  
>"Setsuki!"<br>"Setsuki-chan is awake! I knew she would wake up! I did tell you she would!"  
>"What a relief.."<br>The three different voices sounded familiar. Especially the second one.. My eyes were open half way, adjusting to the light. Once they did I opened them completely, and stared up at the five figures standing over me. Daisuke, Takashi, Tenten, Gai-sensei and Lee... Lee! I immediately sat up, accidentally head-butting Lee, since he was leaning in too close.  
>"Arhh!" We both held our foreheads and cringed.<br>"I told you! Give the woman some air!" Tenten gushed, smacking Lee over the head.  
>Lee whined loudly. "I am sorry!"<br>"L-Lee?!" I stuttered, surprised to see him.  
>"Setsuki you had me so worried! I thought I wasn't going to make it in time!" Takashi huffed.<br>"Get here..? Oh right, Suna.. wait.. why are you here, Lee? A-and Naruto-kun! It's been ages!" I exclaimed. Naruto grinned.  
>"Man its a good thing Daisuke came out and told us about you, dattebayo!"<br>"What?"  
>"I was about to go see what was happening a few days ago with Kankuro. But then you screamed really loudly, and fainted. I didn't know what to do, so I ran out and told them. But they had to get the poison out of Kankuro first. I stayed by your side, and once Sakura was done a few hours later, she came to see you..."<br>"Yeah, and I couldn't figure out what was going on, I checked your blood for a blood sample, and it seemed fine to me.. but.." Sakura shrugged her shoulders, she was standing on the other side of the room.  
>"B-But..?"<br>"I couldn't figure out what was wrong.. you were bleeding pretty badly from your nose, and your mouth. I didn't know how to stop it. So we contacted home, and they said they had sent back up for our mission."  
>"Your mission?"<br>"Right. We had to lend Suna our help. But contacting them took a long time. By then we learned that Gaara had been kidnapped. So we rushed out to save him.. we got into some trouble with the Akatsuki."  
>"Rgh, that's when Bushy Brows, and Uber Brows-sensei arrived. We managed to get Gaara back... but.."<br>"But..?"  
>"Gaara... Gaara was dead."<br>My eyes widened. "G-Gaara!? Dead!?"  
>"He's alive though!" Sakura spoke up.<br>"How?"  
>"Chiyo-obaasan.. she sacrificed herself and brought Gaara back to life.. he's not longer a Jinchuriki." Sakura said, looking down sadly.<br>"And I have you all to thank." Gaara's voice came, from the door way. We all gave a slight gasp, as we faced the Kazekage, standing there, a soft smile on his face.  
>"G-Gaara!"<br>"So you're awake.." Gaara glanced in my direction, but turned his attention to Naruto. The two of them started to speak. Lee sat his butt on my bed, and stole my attention.  
>"I was so worried, Setsuki-chan! I stayed here as soon as I heard!"<br>I stared up at him. "Lee.."  
>His eyes were full of concern, and relief. He took my hand in his, and kissed it. "We had to retrieve Takashi-san from Konoha as fast as we could, because that is all I could think of!"<br>I looked at Takashi. He was death glaring Lee. At our hands. It looked like he was mentally stabbing Lee's hand with a chainsaw.  
>"H-How did you get Takashi back here so fast?" I asked.<br>"I travelled to Konoha and back, within half a day! I set myself that goal and stuck to it! You were my motivation, Setsuki-chan!"  
>Neji scoffed in the background. "Lee, you're getting too ahead of yourself.."<br>"... Okay, just a little over half a day!"  
>"It took you 2 days!" Neji growled.<br>"Two days?"  
>"N-No! One and a half!" Lee pleaded. Neji narrowed his eyes.<br>"It took you one day to get to Konoha, and another whole day to get back here." Neji explained.  
>"Wow! You really did that, Lee?" I looked at him with shock. Lee gave a modest expression and scratched his cheek.<br>"Yes! He is such a magnificent student!" Gai-sensei grinned, ruffling Lee's hair. Lee squealed and shoved Gai-sensei backwards, then fixed his hair. Gai-sensei pouted and stood back. I laughed, highly amused.

Two days later we ready to head home. Gai-sensei carried Kakashi-sensei on his back. Lee thought this was an excellent training exercise. He turned to Neji, and crouched down. "Neji.."  
>Neji sneered. "Hell no!"<br>"Tenten!"  
>"No!"<br>"Daisuke-kun!"  
>"What the hell is wrong with you man!? Get your ass out of my face!"<br>Lee whined. "Setsuki?"  
>"No! I'll carry you!" I replied. Lee stared at me for a moment.<br>"... Noooo, I must be as competitive as Gai-sensei!"  
>"But I must exercise too! That's the only way I can get stronger!" I exclaimed.<br>"You need to rest, Setsuki. No running around until you're better." Takashi grumbled.  
>"If anyone carries Setsuki, it'll be me!" Daisuke stated. Lee gave Daisuke a challenging glare.<br>"No, Daisuke-kun! I am the only one who can carry Setsuki-chan all the way back to Konoha!"  
>"Oh yeah!? Try me!" Daisuke returned the glare.<br>"Ladies, calm down." Susumu said, gripping both their shoulders, tightly, causing them to cringe.  
>"Who are you calling a lady, doll face!?" Daisuke roared.<br>"Did you just call me doll face?!"  
>"Yes I did!"<br>Takashi nudged me on the shoulder, and we started walking with the rest of the group, leaving the three of them there to argue. Gai-sensei had already raced off with Kakashi.  
>The three of them tackled each other, wrestling. Tenten dumped our bags beside them, with a note attached, saying '<em>If you want to carry something, be a real man and carry our bags.<em>'.

It took several hours before they finally caught up to us, and in that time Takashi explained to me, what had happened to me.  
>"They mixed pure blood into your system.. it thickened your own blood.. which could have been dangerous, because your blood was at a high risk of clotting."<br>"What do you mean by making her blood thicker?" Neji asked.  
>"It's a little hard to explain. Setsuki's blood has a very high percentage of water mixed with it. It's an 80:20 ratio." Takashi answered.<br>"How is that even possible?" Tenten inquired.  
>Takashi shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "Its unexplainable. Even for I. Setsuki was born that way. Its mysterious. But because her blood was thickened, her internal organs, especially her heart and lungs, suffered because they are used to pumping the watery blood, not normal blood. So I imagine the nosebleeds came from her body rejecting this blood."<br>"You mean I could've died?!" I whined.  
>"Yes." Takashi said, very bluntly. I pouted, but then he looked me in the eye. "But I will not let that happen."<br>He went on to explain just how difficult it was for him to remove the thicker blood from my system, and just how risky it was. Takashi stated, that once we arrive at the village, he is going to demand to Tsunade-sama, that he should be the only certified person to do anything with my blood from now on. We all agreed.

Suddenly, dust was being kicked up behind us. I turned my head only a little, when I was suddenly lifted off my feet, into the air, and moving at a very fast pace.  
>"Eeep!" I clung to whatever had hold of me. I looked up and saw Lee's sparkling face. I stared for a moment before Daisuke's shouting was heard close behind.<br>"You may have gotten her first this time, Lee, but mark my words, I will have the last laugh! Haha- KAH!" Daisuke almost tripped as he swallowed a fly, he slowed right down until he was standing on the spot, grabbing at his throat, gagging. Susumu, who was behind him, stopped and burst out into laughter. Lee just kept on running.  
>"Lee what's going on?"<br>"I must beat Gai-sensei back to Konoha! If I cannot, then my punishment will have be severe!" He declared. Beat Gai-sensei back to the village? But Gai-sensei is already so very very far ahead..  
>"I believe in you, Lee!" I said. His eyes turned from the road ahead, to me. "I believe in you!" I repeated, flashing a huge grin. Lee smirked and quickened his pace.<br>"Oii! Bushy Brows!" Naruto called out from far back. Lee glanced over his shoulder, but didn't slow down. "Where's our luggage!?"  
>Lee's eyes widened.<br>"No! Daisuke-kun can get the luggage!" I said.  
>"What do you mean, <em>I<em> can get it!?" Daisuke questioned, clearing his throat and wiping his watery eyes. I made my eyes water, and stared at Daisuke with a sad expression. Daisuke's eyes widened. "D-Don't cry! My beloved Setsuki! I will go back and get the luggage! I promise!"  
>"On your own?" Susumu scoffed.<br>"No." Daisuke grabbed Susumu's shirt by the collar. "You're gonna do it with me, Doll face."  
>Susumu's eyes narrowed. "Is that right, honey?"<br>"Yes, that's right."  
>"And if I don't want to?"<br>"Far out, can't you just do one thing with me!? _One_ thing!?"  
>"I could."<br>They stared deeply into each others' eyes. Takashi stepped forward and cleared his throat. "I hate to interrupt your little.. bonding moment, boys.. but you better go back and get that luggage." He said, adjusting his glasses.  
>They both faced Takashi, frowning. "And if we refuse?" Daisuke boldly questioned.<br>Takashi's eyes darkened, and a wicked smirk grew upon his face. "If you refuse..?"  
>Both boys' jaws dropped to the ground, their eyes wide with horror. "N-Never mind!" And with that, they both sprinted back towards the desert to collect the luggage.<p>

Lee continued running, until we finally saw Gai-sensei slacking off, taking a small bite to eat at a dango shop in the middle of no where.  
>Lee ran straight past him. As soon as he saw the green flash of Lee's swift movements, Gai-sensei hoisted Kakashi-sensei back up, and chased after us.<br>"Haha, it seems you have finally caught up, Lee!" Gai-sensei called. He quickly over took him, however.  
>Lee's expression hardened, scowling at the fact that Gai-sensei so effortlessly ran ahead. Perhaps I was too heavy?<br>"Lee! Let me get on your back, you may be able to run faster that way!" I suggested. Lee gave me a thoughtful expression.  
>"Yosh!" Lee practically threw me over his shoulder, forcing me to hold on myself, I wrapped my arms around his neck, and my legs around his waist. Lee's head lifted a fraction. "You were right! With you on my back, instead of my arms, I feel more flexible! I feel faster! Hold on, Setsuki-chan!"<br>I nodded and did as he said. Lee quickly caught up beside Gai-sensei, and they ran side by side for a few miles.

After a few hours, they had both slowed considerably. Lee's tongue hanged out of his mouth, like he was dying for a drink. Gai-sensei was the same. This was where carrying me comes to Lee's advantage!  
>"Lee, open your mouth!" I instructed. Lee didn't even think twice, he just opened his mouth wider. I cupped my hands together in front of his face, and used my chakra to fill them with crystal clear, cold water. Lee noticed and withdrew his tongue, moving his lips forward desperately. His bottom lip touched the bottom of my hand, followed by the tip of his tongue, as he began to drank the water. I tilted my hands upwards, making it easier for him.<br>He drank all of it, then licked his lips. "Thank you very much, Setsuki-chan!" He grinned, and ran on ahead of Gai-sensei, who moaned exhaustedly.

We finally arrived back at sunset. The incredible speed of Lee allowed us to get all the way back to Konoha in just one day!  
>I felt so happy, that all I could do was just cuddle him from behind. My head rested against the back of his neck, my eyes were closed. I had the most content smile.<br>"We are here!" Lee exclaimed. I opened my eyes, and peeked over his shoulder. The village gates were in sight.  
>"You did it, Lee." I said. "You beat Gai-sensei."<br>Lee shook his head, then flashed a cheesy grin at me. "_We_. _We_ beat Gai-sensei, together, Setsuki-chan!"  
>"But I didn't do anything..?"<br>"You supported me the whole way! With your help, I was able to keep on going!" Lee said. "Just like last time, when I rushed to Suna with Takashi-san on my back. You helped me to bring Takashi back quickly!"  
>"I.. did?"<br>He nodded happily. I noticed his pace was slowing, but I didn't think too much about it. We were a metre and a half away from the gate. When who should happen to suddenly run up from no where and run ahead? That's right... Gai-sensei.  
>Our eyes widened at the incredible speed. Lee stopped as soon as he passed the gates, staring with shock at Gai-sensei.<br>"Yosh!" Gai-sensei raised a fist to the air, almost knocking Kakashi-sensei out. "I have won!" He redirected his fist towards us and pointed. "Lee! You let your guard down at the last moment!"  
>"I... I am sorry, Gai-sensei!" Lee whined. I tried to get off his back, but his hand was still on my thigh, holding me up.<br>"A shinobi must never let his guard down! Not even at the last moment!"  
>Lee lowered his head. I poked him in the cheek. "Neh, cheer up! You still got us here in <em>one<em> day after all! That's really amazing, Lee!"  
>Lee's eyes turned to me, he stared at me as if he was surprised. "A-amazing?"<br>"Yes! Of course! Not even I could manage that! You really are something, Lee!" I gave him a big, friendly smile. The corner of his lips twitched, and he smiled too. I hated seeing him sad. I put my finger under his chin and tilted his head up more. "You look much better when you smile." I said. Our eyes made contact, for a really long time. Gai-sensei was staring at us, tears rolling down his face, he snorted and sobbed obnoxiously.  
>I felt my cheeks burning up from his gaze, my heart was racing. Lee, ever so slowly, allowed me to get down, but without breaking our eye contact. He turned to me, and embraced me. My heart felt like it was going to explode.<br>"S... Setsuki-chan.." He said. His face was turning red. Kakashi was groaning in pain, so Gai-sensei dropped him. But we ignored it. I moved my hand from his chin, onto his shoulder. He was.. trembling?  
>"Lee..."<br>"T... Thank you.." He put his forehead against mine. My heart skipped a beat at the contact. I could smell his adrenaline. I could feel the sweat on his forehead and in his hair. It made my legs feel weak. I gripped his shoulder just a little harder, to try and keep my balance. Lee wrapped his arm around my waist, as if helping me stand. He smiled. That cute, harmless smile. My eyes softened. I wanted to look away, I felt a little embarrassed, but his eyes were so intriguing.  
>My breathing was becoming faster, my heart was racing so fast it felt like it wasn't beating at all. I almost gasped for air as Lee leaned close enough that our noses touched.<br>Gai-sensei was on his hands and knees, moping in a world full of emotions, crying at the scene in front of him, it was making his heart melt with utmost joy.  
>"Set...suki.." Lee seemed to be at a loss for words. My own lips were slowly moving, almost like they had a mind of their own, I couldn't understand it, but it was like they wanted to make contact with Lee's own lips.. Lee's lips were the same. "Peck.." He said, then pecked my lips. My eyes widened. I couldn't feel my heart beating at all. I wanted to do it back. I don't know why. But I wanted to. I closed my eyes halfway, Lee did the same. We both hesitated, before both leaning in, together, our lips connected, we closed our eyes.<br>Gai-sensei squealed in the background, before collapsing, gazing up at his beloved students. Only his eyes were capable of movement, and he could've been imaging a beautiful ocean wave to blend with the sunset.  
>Lee and I moved our lips unsurely, biting each others' lower lips, and subconsciously pulling each other closer. I felt lightheaded, like I was dreaming. I was kissing Lee? The boy- no, the man I 'love' so much? This is what love feels like.. there's no other way to describe the feelings. Love.<br>A single tear escaped my eye, and ran down my cheek. I couldn't explain it. Relief? Happiness? Joy? All I know, is that, that tear, was far from sadness. It fell from my chin and landed, on the ground.

"Unh.. hooray... can.. you take me to hospital now.. Gai..."  
>"No, Kakashi! This is the blooming of love! You don't understand the significance of this moment! Kakashi!"<br>"Wah! Hey!"  
>"Their embrace, their kiss, their everything! Their hot-blooded love! Can't you see the passion in their eyes!?"<br>"Their.. eyes are closed.. Gai.. and stop crying on me, you're getting me wet..."  
>"Pfffpht! Kakashi.. I'm so.. so happy.. right now! Waaaaahh!"<br>"G-Gai!"


	76. Chapter 76

**Chapter 76**

"A job well done." Was all Tsunade said to us, two days later when the rest of them arrived. "You lot deserve a few days rest."  
>"Thank you, Tsunade-sama!"<br>"I can use this time to train even _harder_!" Lee exclaimed. We were holding hands, which made people suspicious, especially Daisuke.  
>"I reckon we should all have a party tonight!" Tenten suggested. We faced her, grinning.<br>"Yes! That does sound fun!" Sakura concurred. We all nodded, except for Neji and Susumu.

Later that night, I was getting ready to go out to the party, it was at the BBQ restaurant. Takashi was almost breathing down my neck, lecturing me on what to do, and what not to do. I told him it will be perfectly fine, because its a small, harmless party. He wasn't convinced.

I dressed into a nice light blue shirt, which perhaps showed a little more cleavage than I would have liked, and a knee-length black shirt. I also wore a leather jacket, one of my most expensive possessions.

I walked to the restaurant, and inside only two of us were already seated inside a booth, a table big enough to fit all of us. I sat down, and smiled at Tenten and Sakura. They flashed huge grins at me.  
>"You were holding Lee's hand, Setsuki~" Tenten smirked.<br>"Y-Yeah? So?"  
>"Are you two finally, <em>together<em>?" Sakura asked. I scratched my cheek.  
>"Er.. I... guess we are..?"<br>Their faces lit up with excitement. They looked like they were going to pounce me, but the table prevented them from doing so. I noticed Tenten was wearing a Chinese style dress with a golden dragon print on it. Sakura was wearing a nice long, strapless black dress.  
>As we continued to talk about Lee, the devil himself turned up without us even realising at first.<br>"Why are we talking about me?" He asked. We all jumped. Lee's eyebrow was raised high.  
>"Y-You're late!" I said, quickly changing the subject. Lee's jaw dropped.<br>"Late!? Me!?" He whined. "But I was sure I was on time!"  
>"Nah, I beat you here, which means you're late!"<br>"Aww.." Lee looked down.  
>The door opened and Naruto walked in with a strange boy behind him. We stared at the pale boy for a moment, as if trying to recognise him.<br>"Naruto-kun.. who is that?" Lee asked.  
>"This is Sai.." Naruto replied, as if he disliked him.<br>"Yeah.. he's our new member on Team 7." Sakura explained. "Tsunade-sama assigned him to our team."  
>Sai gave a fake smile. "Hello." He sat beside Sakura, and Naruto sat on the other side of him.<br>Daisuke walked in, dragging Susumu. "Its okay now, the life of the party is **here**." Daisuke said, throwing Susumu onto the seat. They were both wearing reasonably formal suits. All the boys were. Though, Lee looked the best!  
>"We're missing someone.." Naruto mentioned, looking at an empty seat beside me.<br>"Neji."  
>"Oh no he doesn't. If he's not coming to this party, then neither should I!" Susumu gushed.<br>"Oh shut up Dolly." Daisuke huffed. Susumu glared at him.  
>"Why does Neji always do this!" Tenten groaned. "He usually comes to our little parties... even if he does just sit there and do nothing.."<br>"Sorry I'm late." Neji said, just so happening to be standing there. He wasn't face any of us. He finally took the vacant seat beside me.

A waiter brought a bottle of water over to us, followed by food. We all had a great time, conversing, eating and laughing our way through the night. It was getting late, Sai, and Tenten had already left. Both Sakura and Naruto had fallen asleep at the table, and Lee kept insisting that we take them home. But no one could be bothered.  
>Daisuke ran over from wherever he went, holding a white bottle with no label. "Here I managed to sneak this out!" He said, putting it on the table. "Everyone should have a glass!" He poured us all a glass, and we drank. It tasted bitter, but also had a unique flavouring. I drank half of what was in my glass, Neji had one sip and he was done, but Lee drank the entire glass, and even wanted more.<br>"You two should have a drinking competition!" I said when I noticed Daisuke did the same as Lee. The two stared each other in the eye competitively. Daisuke poured them both heaps of glasses.  
>"Go!" Daisuke said. The two of them started drinking as much as they could, as quickly as they could. Susumu had two glasses and wanted another, so he stole one from Daisuke.<p>

A while late both Daisuke and Lee had pink cheeks, and they were swaying a little. Lee's head fell and hit the table.  
>"Yeeeaaah! I winnnn! Loserrr~" Daisuke giggled.<br>I put my hand on Lee's back. "Lee?"  
>Lee lifted his head, and stared at me. He then smirked. "You look weally buuuutifal, Skuti-chwan~" He said. I tilted my head.<br>"Noooooo!" Daisuke grabbed Lee's shoulder. Lee glared at Daisuke.  
>"What'choo looookin' aaat? Dooon't touch meee!" Lee quickly grabbed Daisuke's hand, and threw him across the restaurant. I gasped in surprise. Daisuke hit the wall and cringed.<br>"You bastaaard!" Daisuke ran back. Lee hiccuped and stood up.  
>"Doooon't worry Skuti-chaaan! I wiiiiiill proteecctt youuuuu!"<br>"B-But Lee.."  
>"Nuu!"<br>Daisuke came running, and tried to punch Lee. Lee effortlessly leaned backwards to dodge it, but then he actually performed Leaf Hurricane onto Daisuke, causing him to smash through the wall. My eyes widened and I stood up. Lee swayed as he stood in his fighting stance.  
>"Lee! Stop it! What're you doing!?" I questioned. Lee only hiccuped.<br>"Great.." Neji huffed. "Lee's drunk. I did not need this tonight. Setsuki he doesn't seem to want to fight you, you might be the only one who can stop him."  
>"Stop him?" I asked.<br>"... You still don't know about Lee's Drunken Fist, do you..?" I shook my head. Neji sighed. "He's impossible to defeat.. even Gai-sensei and I, _together, _struggle to even immobilise him!"  
>"He's that difficult!?" I looked up at Lee.<br>"Lee! Stop it! Stop hurting my honey!" Susumu growled. Lee faced Susumu. Without warning, Lee smacked his fist into Susumu's jaw. Susumu stumbled backwards.  
>"Lee!" I stood up and grabbed Lee's wrist, tightly. Lee looked over his shoulder at me. "Stop hurting them!" I said, staring straight into his eyes. Lee tried to pull his arm back, but I didn't let go. "Please."<br>"Is it going to work..?" Neji muttered to himself, watching Lee closely.  
>"Noo no nooo! You do nooooot understaaand!" Lee exclaimed. He pulled me close to him. I lost my footing and fell onto him. We both fell. Lee closed his eyes, as if he had just fallen asleep.<br>"I think he's asleep, Neji." I said. Neji stood up and walked over.  
>"Don't be fooled so easily.. he will normally fake sleep." He said.<br>"Fake sleep?"  
>Neji activated his Byakugan. Lee suddenly stood up and took a swing at Neji. Neji only just managed to avoid it. That speed was incredible. I immediately stood up. Lee saw me.<br>"You are in love with Neji!" Lee exclaimed. I tilted my head, and suddenly Lee's fist smacked right into my jaw. I stumbled back, in great pain. I landed on the table, and smashed a plate beneath me, which cut into my back.  
>My jaw was insanely numb, it almost felt broken. I sat up slowly, holding my jaw. "L-Lee... what're you doing..."<br>Lee attacked Neji, and Neji struggled to keep up with the speed, even with his Byakugan activated. I pulled a shard of the broken plate out of my back and cringed. It was covered in blood. I don't know how deeply it stabbed into me.  
>Meanwhile, Susumu had crawled through the hole in the wall, to Daisuke who was laying on the ground outside. Susumu pulled Daisuke's head onto his lap.<br>"Honey.."  
>Daisuke's eyes opened halfway. "Dolly?"<br>"Why are you bleeding.. That's bad.." Susumu leaned down, and examined the bleeding. Daisuke stared into Susumu's eyes. He reached his hand up, and ran his fingers through Susumu's long silky hair. Susumu tensed as Daisuke pulled his head down towards him.  
>"I fucking love you." Daisuke said, before bringing Susumu down to kiss him, passionately. Susumu's eyes widened.<p>

Neji managed to hit one of Lee's chakra points, disabling his left arm. But it didn't stop him.  
>I tried sending clones to grabs his limbs, but he was way too agile and avoided every single one of them, and quickly destroying them with a punch or a kick shortly after.<br>Neji and I were struggling. I had one last clone standing beside me.  
>"We can't fail." I said to her. She gave me a strange look.<br>"We will." She said. "He's unstoppable, like some sort of freakish monster."  
>"Freakish monster?" I looked at Lee. She was right. He was totally out of control, and he was going after the other customers, but Neji and I managed to protect them as they escaped the building.<br>Lee knocked Neji backwards, then turned to me quickly. A huge grin across his face. "Dooo youuu looove me noww?"  
>I blinked. "Lee.." But I couldn't finish my sentence. Lee came charging at me. Within a blink of an eye he was right in front of me. His fist penetrated my stomach, and I smashed into the ceiling light, and screamed as the electricity zapped me for a brief moment. I fell to the ground, laying on my stomach, cringing. I couldn't possibly move anymore.<br>Suddenly, Daisuke came charging in. "Suki-chwaaan! I heaard a screeaaaamm!" He chimed, he glanced at me, confused. "Suukii?" He then looked at Lee, and his expression dropped. Lee had death written all over him. A sparkle shined in Daisuke's eye. "Yoouu!" Daisuke ran forward, grabbing a shard of broken glass from the ground, which cut his own hand. He went to slice Lee with it, but Lee arched backwards, put his hands on the ground, and wrapped his legs around Daisuke's waist, before throwing him across the room again.  
>The loud smashing noise of Daisuke landing in the bar, smashing all the bottles, caused Sakura and Naruto to wake up.<br>"What's with all the racket, dattebayo!?"  
>"Naruto.." Neji grumbled, standing up, holding a gash on his arm.<br>"Ehh!? What happened!?" Sakura panicked, seeing us laying on the ground, and bleeding.  
>"Lee.. needs to be stopped.."<br>"Lee?!" Sakura turned to Lee, who was standing on the spot, swaying back and forth. Lee turned and faced Naruto and Sakura, and hiccuped.  
>"What's the meaning of this, Bushy Brows?!"<br>"He's intoxicated." Neji said. "He becomes an unstoppable fighting machine.. Setsuki and I cannot even immobilise him. He's too fast."  
>"Setsuki!?" Naruto growled. "Aren't you in love with her, Bushy Brows?"<br>Lee merely hiccuped as a response. I opened my eyes halfway, looking up at Lee. So he has no idea what he's doing, huh?  
>I tried to stand up, it was painful. I glanced over to where Daisuke landed, he was hanging off the counter, he was out. Shards of broken bottles were jabbed into his back. Sakura landed beside me.<br>"Your back is bleeding!" She said, before forcibly removing my leather jacket, to heal my back as quickly as she could.  
>"I'll stop him, dattebayo! Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto created what seemed like thousands of clones, all in the tiny space of this restaurant. Lee burst out in laughter and spun around. Naruto sent his clones at Lee, who fought back and started destroying them, one by one.<br>"S-Sakura-chan.. Daisuke is.." I stuttered, even talking hurt. I gripped my stomach, that punch was very powerful. Sakura faced Daisuke and gasped.  
>"I'll go heal him, do you feel alright now?"<br>My back wasn't hurting anymore, but my stomach and jaw still hurt. I nodded my head anyway. Sakura ran over to Daisuke and tended to him.  
>Naruto's clones were running out at a rapid speed. I looked around the room, and found a frying pan. I grabbed it and unexpectedly ran to Lee at top speed. I smashed the frying pan across the back of his head. Lee fell over, and a lump quickly formed on his head. I sighed of relief, and panted. Neji and Naruto faced me, shocked. I dropped the frying pan.<br>"I think its time to return home, after some treatment." Neji mentioned. We nodded in agreement.

Sakura healed us the best she could, and stopped all the bleeding. She stopped the aching in my stomach and jaw, but I was bruising pretty badly, there wasn't anything Sakura could do about it. I told them I would take Lee home, and none of them disagreed. I picked Lee up, and held him in my arms. He was sleeping like a baby, hiccuping every now and then, it was kind of adorable.  
>As far as I knew, Naruto took Sakura home, Susumu took Daisuke home, and Neji.. well I don't know what he was doing. He went to speak to the owner of the restaurant, probably to apologise.<p>

I went to Lee's apartment and went inside. The door was unlocked. The room was really clean, all the paintings and posters on the wall were perfectly straight, and everything was perfectly folded. I opened the door to his bedroom, the bed was messy, and there were dumbbells and nun-chucks scattered across the floor, and one of the lamps was broken. I shook my head and smiled as I laid him on his bed. He looked uncomfortable though. I removed his jacket and hung it on the coat hanger. I also removed his tie and shoes, placing the tie on his bedside table, and his shoes by the door.  
>He shivered, so I pulled the blankets up over him. I stared at him for a moment, he looked so adorable. "Good night, Lee." I said softly. He turned and buried his head into his pillow, and muttered something incoherent. I reached over his bed to turn the other lamp off, when suddenly his arm came up and grabbed my arm. I jumped. Was he still awake? Was he going to put up another fight?<br>I stared at him. He stayed like that for a while. After realising he was actually asleep, I went to pull my arm back, but he wouldn't let go. He pulled it down to him, and nuzzled it.  
>"Stay.." He mumbled in his sleep.<br>"Uh... L-Lee I have to go home.." I said. He groaned, but let go of my arm. I was beginning to wonder if he was actually asleep or not. I stroked his hair one last time, then went home.


	77. Chapter 77

**Chapter 77**

Takashi saw the bruise on my lower cheek, and my stomach, and wasn't happy **at all**. He tried telling me to stay home and rest for the day, but I refused, because I wanted to see Lee.  
>I managed to get out of the house, and I ran to Lee's apartment. I knocked on the door. Moments later, the door opened, Lee was up, his white shirt was unbuttoned and exposed his bare chest and one shoulder. His belt buckle was undone, and he was missing one sock. He had heavy bags under his eyes as he looked at me. He blinked.<br>"S-Setsuki-chan!?" He immediately straightened up.  
>"How are you feeling?" I asked, concerned. He scratched his cheek.<br>"Er.. I have a little headache.. b-but other than that, I am completely fine!" He said, flashing a smile. I tried not to look at his chest. It was just so tempting.  
>"Well, that's good?" I said, inviting myself in. He stepped aside and shut the door behind me.<br>"Wait.. is Gai-sensei unhappy with me? What time is it? I am late for training!" He whined, he went to run for his room, but tripped over his own feet and fell.  
>"Nooo!" I said, helping him up. The way his abs stood out as he tensed, was so.. amazing..<br>"Eeeep! I am not even dressed properly!" He said. He ripped his white shirt off completely and ran to his bedroom. I caught a glimpse of his back. I stood there, dumbfounded.  
>Moments later, Lee came running out in his usual green suit. But it was ripped across one shoulder.<br>"Lee.."  
>He didn't hear me, he was rushing around trying to get ready. He searched for his flak jacket.<br>"Lee..."  
>"Where is it!" He shrieked.<br>"Lee!" He finally looked at me. "Calm down! You're not late!" I said. He seemed to relax a bit. "Gai-sensei isn't even there." I lied.  
>"What?! Gai-sensei must be sick!" Lee continued to rush around. I sighed.<br>"Lee! We have a few days off, you know, to rest!" I mentioned.  
>"But I must train to keep my body fit and healthy!"<br>"You said you had a headache!"  
>"Yes, and I have a mysterious lump on my head!"<br>"I.."  
>"You what?"<br>"I have nothing to do with that!"  
>He tilted his head. "What did happen last night? I do not remember a thing!"<br>"Er.."  
>"Wait a moment.." Lee walked over to me, and stared at my jaw with great concern. "What happened to you? You're hurt!"<br>"... I was punched."  
>"By who? I must make them apologise to you, Setsuki-chan!"<br>"But Lee!"  
>"No! I must help you!"<br>"It was you!" I said. Lee stopped for a moment and stared at me.  
>"W.. what?"<br>"I.. uh.. you were intoxicated, so.. you didn't know what you were doing." I explained.  
>"I-I did this?" He asked, his eyes were full of sadness.<br>"But its okay, it doesn't hurt anymore." I said, grabbing his hand.  
>"Hurt? How much did it hurt?"<br>"Not much at all." I lied. "Your punches are weak anyway!"  
>Lee made an offended noise. "What do you mean, <em>weak<em>?"  
>"They don't hurt!" I poked my tongue out and giggled. Lee sighed of relief. "Now smile!" I said, tilting his chin up again. Lee gave a small smile.<br>"I am very sorry.." He said.  
>I shook my head and smiled. "It's okay! But you know, you defeated Neji!"<br>"I did?"  
>"Yeah huh! You were so fast, I couldn't even keep my eyes on you!" I said, sounding amazed. Lee grinned. "I always knew I was better than Neji!" He exclaimed.<br>"I always believed that anyway!" I said. He stared at me. I nodded. "Ever since the Chuunin Exams! … No, even before that! Like, when I first met you! I knew you were better than him!"  
>"Really? But back then.. I.. was a failure.." He said.<br>"But remember your fight with Gaara?" I mentioned. Lee's eyes narrowed, the memory seemed painful to him. "You pulled through, even when they said there was no chance! And look at you now! You're like, the strongest guy I know!" I said. "I don't think Neji could have recovered like that!" Lee seemed to acknowledge where I was coming from. "And just last night, you defeated him without even trying!"  
>His grin grew larger. "You are right! I have gotten stronger, haven't I? I finally defeated Neji!"<br>"That's right! Now you don't need to train today!"  
>"But-"<br>"Nope! Instead, we're gonna go and get some ice cream!"  
>Lee sighed. "Alright."<p>

It took a few months before Sai was fully accepted into Team 7, and not everyone was really fond of him. Personally, I never really got the chance to speak to him directly, so I had no other choice than to believe what the others said about him.

It was December again now, the village was as beautiful as every other year, blanketed in pure white snow, it was almost like a fairy tale. Christmas had just passed, and four days later, it was my birthday. It had completely slipped my mind because I was so busy, running errands for people, chasing after lost dogs, and spending time with Lee.

I woke up early that morning, I didn't understand why my heart was racing, perhaps I was just gonna be full of energy today. I dressed in record time and found Takashi in the kitchen, as usual. Although, he looked really tired, and he was sitting at the table, with his head resting on his arm, his other hand was loosely holding the handle of a mug, which contained a cooled down coffee. Perhaps he'd fallen asleep and hadn't woken up for a while. I walked over and debated whether or not I should wake him up. I wondered why he was always up so early, when clearly he wasn't built for it.  
>I went into his bedroom, curiously searching for any clues. His bed was made perfectly, as if it hadn't been touched for a while. There was a layer of dust on his desk, and chair, clearly he hadn't been working here for quite a while. I ran my finger along his bed, which also had a small layer of dust. It got up my nose, and I sneezed.<br>It did feel pretty stuffy in here, and I wondered if Takashi ever came in here at all. I opened the blinds and opened his window, allowing a cold breeze to come in. The breeze knocked a small pile of paper off the desk, which I quickly ran over and caught before they went out of order. That's when I noticed an encyclopaedia of some sort, laying open on there. I glanced at the heading: _"Biological Substances"_ I looked over the papers which had some sort of rough handwriting on them. "_Implanting certain biological substances into corpses.. would it work?"_ I tilted my head, confused. On another page, "_Creating a certain substance that affects the memory of the brain..."_ and beneath it, there was a list of some sort of chemicals which I couldn't read. I looked towards the door, wondering why Takashi would be researching such things.  
>I shrugged it off and put the pages back down where they were. I also closed the window, because it was getting cold.<br>When I returned to the kitchen, Takashi was still asleep. I decided to leave him alone, and leave the house. I was immediately greeted by Lee, who was curled up on the door step, shivering. He looked like he was trying to sleep. I tilted my head.  
>"Lee?"<br>He immediately lifted his head. "S-Setsuki-chan!" He stood up, shivering. "G-good m-m-morning!" His teeth were chattering.  
>"What.. are you doing?" I asked.<br>"I was w-waiting f-for y-you to c-c-come outs-s-side."  
>"But aren't you cold?"<br>"N-not at all!" He lied. I stared at him for a moment, then shook my head.  
>"Nope." I took hold of his hand and pulled him back inside. I grabbed a heavy blanket, and sat beside him on the couch, pulling the blanket over both of us. I told myself that I would warm him up with both my body heat, and this blanket. He was confused at first, but allowed me to lean against him, wrapping my arms around him. He wrapped his arm around me, and played with my hair.<p>

We stayed like this for a while, until he warmed up and stopped shivering. "So.. what were you sleeping out there for?" I asked. A huge grin found its way onto his face.  
>"I wanted to be the first to say, happy birthday, Setsuki-chan!" He chimed. I blinked.<br>"R-right! Its my birthday!" I exclaimed. He chuckled.  
>"Did you forget?"<br>"... No.." I averted my eyes from him, then he put his hand on my cheek and made me look at him again. He looked so happy, and I smiled.  
>"I must make this the best day for you!" He exclaimed. "Birthdays are supposed to be the best day of the year!"<br>"My my." Takashi was standing by the door way, gazing at us. "Don't we look comfortable.." We both faced him in surprise.  
>Lee's face immediately dropped in fear. "Ta-Ta-Takashi-san!"<br>I tried to sit up so I wasn't leaning on him, but then Lee suddenly shoved me off the couch. "Wah!" I hit my head on the ground.  
>"We weren't doing anything!" Lee exclaimed, straightening himself up.<br>"I see that.." Takashi scratched his chin, staring at Lee. His eyes were dark and heavy, and his glasses didn't hide it. His eyes narrowed at Lee. Lee whined as I stood up and rubbed my head.  
>"I was only warming him up! Lee was sleeping outside so-"<br>"Outside? Outside our house?" Takashi's eyes narrowed even more.  
>"Uh.. no no just outside. So.. uh.. y-you know how you always say that body heat is good for warming people up?"<br>Takashi just stared at me.  
>"I.. uh.."<br>"Please forgive me Takashi-san!" Lee fell onto his hands and knees, bowing to him. His face was probably touching the ground. "I did not mean to touch Setsuki-chan's butt!"  
>"WHAT?!"<br>I looked at Lee curiously. Since when did he..

Lee took me out to lunch. He had a huge black eye. I never knew that Takashi packed quite a punch. We had hot chips, and sat inside the window of this small store, picking them from a huge bowl in the middle of the table.  
>"... I'm sorry about Tak-"<br>"No! It is completely fine! I have learned not to doubt old people!"  
>"But your eye.."<br>"It does not hurt!" His eye was almost purple, and it was closed. It looked painful. But I had to just take his word for it, because it was impossible for Lee to admit to pain.  
>Suddenly, Daisuke ran past the window at top speed. I shrugged it off, and continued eating. Lee sat up straight and adjusted his Chuunin jacket until it was comfortable, then flicked his hair to the side, but it fell back into place straight away.<br>"Lee."  
>"Yes?"<br>"There's one chip left."  
>Lee looked at the bowl. The last chip. "Well, you have it, Setsuki-chan! It is your birthday, after all!"<br>"But I want you to have it."  
>"No! It is yours. After you eat it, we must go and train, and burn these calories!"<br>"But I want you to have it." I repeated, staring straight at him. Lee stared back.  
>"Set-"<br>"Lee."  
>Suddenly a hand reached over and took the last chip. We both looked up to see who it was. Choji stuffed the chip into his mouth. "Yahaha! The last chip is always the best!" He laughed.<br>"Choji-kun! That chip was mine!" Lee exclaimed. I grinned.  
>"So you <em>did<em> want it after all!" I exclaimed. Lee pouted, then shook his head.  
>"No!"<br>"Ahh! Setsuki. Uhh.. I was supposed to pass on a message.." Choji scratched the back of his ear, groaning thoughtfully.  
>"What is it, Choji-kun?" Lee sat up straight, staring at Choji.<br>"Mmmm... it'll come to me eventually."  
>"You forgot?"<br>"Nooo.. … … yeah."  
>"Choji-kun has lost his memory! We must help him get it back!"<br>"Yosh! But how?"  
>"What is good for recovering memories?"<br>I remembered reading Takashi's files this morning, and had an idea. "I know! We'll ask Takashi!" Lee seemed to become a little shy.  
>Choji started to laugh. "I just noticed that bruise on your eye, Setsuki must've got you pretty good." He said, while munching on potato chips which he pilled from his pocket.<br>"Er.. about that.."  
>"Lets go!" I grabbed Lee's wrist and ran out the door, beckoning Choji. Choji ran, but was behind, unable to keep up with us.<p>

We finally arrived home, and Takashi was cooking something in the kitchen, and so Choji was the first inside.  
>"Hello, Setsuki's uncle!" Choji grinned, eying the steak cooking in the fry pan. Takashi narrowed his eyes and shuffled away from him.<br>"Who are you..?"  
>"Oh my pardon, I'm Akimichi Choji! And that steak looks amazing!"<br>"... You can't have any."  
>"What?! Why not! PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING!"<br>"Why are you in my house!" Takashi started to raise his voice. Lee stood between them, facing Takashi, giving an apologetic look.  
>"I am very sorry for Choji-kun's behaviour! I will run 2,000 laps as punishment!"<br>"But.. Lee you didn't do anything." I said, walking over finally.  
>Takashi gave me a questioning look.<br>"Uh.. Choji-kun has a problem! He has lost his memory, and I thought you could help him!"  
>"Lost memory?" Takashi turned to Choji. "He seems perfectly normal to me.. well, normal enough.."<br>"No no! Uncle, you don't understand! Choji-kun doesn't remember what he was going to tell me, and I saw your documents in your room about memories and-"  
>"You were looking through my documents, IN MY ROOM!?"<br>I flinched. "U-uh.. well.. um.. I went in there.. because.. I saw you asleep this morning! So, I wanted to see if there was anything in your room, because I never see you in there and uh.. I opened the window, and the paper flew around so I grabbed them and.. maybe.. glanced at them.."  
>"Glanced at them? How much did you read?" He pushed his glasses up and his face was becoming red with anger.<br>"Not much, just the headings." I bluntly lied.  
>"... Fine.."<br>Choji and Lee gave each other awkward looks, not knowing what to say or how to act. I scratched my cheek, and my eyes wandered.  
>"Is.. uh.. there a way for Choji to regain his memory?" Lee boldly asked.<br>"... I can't help bad memories." Takashi finally replied.  
>"I don't have a bad memory."<br>"Well, then there's no problem, is there." Takashi narrowed his eyes in Choji's direction, then returned his attention to the steak.  
>"But Choji-kun cannot remember what he was-"<br>"I heard you the first time, lad." Takashi cut him off.  
>Lee flinched.<br>"I-is there anything you can do..?" I asked.  
>"No."<p>

We left, deciding that Takashi was no help after all.  
>"He seemed a little angrier than usual, don't you think, Setsuki-chan?" Lee mentioned.<br>"Yeah.. its my fault. I shouldn't have been looking through his room anyway." I replied.  
>Choji scratched his stomach. "Maybe if I had something to eat.."<br>The three of us looked at each other. "I do not have any food on me, Choji-kun." Lee stated. I shook my head.  
>"And I don't have money on me, to buy anything."<br>We were in a pinch. "Hey, what was your teammate's name?" Choji suddenly asked.  
>"Which one?"<br>"The blonde one."  
>"... Which one?"<br>"Uh.. he has short spiky hair."  
>"Daisuke?"<br>"Yes! That's the one."  
>"What about him?"<br>"He was the one who told me to pass on a message to you."  
>"I saw Daisuke-kun run past that restaurant earlier, he sure seemed like he was in a rush." I mentioned.<br>"Where was he headed?" Lee asked.  
>"I dunno, he went in that general direction." I said, pointing. Turns out I was pointing at the Hokage building. We all nodded and ran there.<p>

"Tsunade-sama!" Choji shouted as the three of us burst in through the door. She angrily raised her head up to us.  
>"What is it? Can't you see I'm busy!"<br>"Did Daisuke-kun come by here?" Lee asked, stepping forward apologetically.  
>"Daisuke?"<br>"Yamanaka." I said.  
>"Hm.. oh! Yes, I have seen him, just recently actually."<br>"You did!? Where is he?!"  
>"He had an important mission, or so he told me. He said he could handle it."<br>"Mission! That's right!" Choji yelled. We all faced him immediately. "I remember what he told me!"  
>"What!?"<br>"Listen." Choji's carefree face changed to a solemn one. I gulped, knowing this was a bad sign. "He told me, to tell you, Setsuki, that he was going out to find someone, and murder them."  
>"M-Murder? But Choji, Daisuke-kun would never murder anybody!" I said.<br>"But that's what he said! And also, something about vengeance."  
>"Vengeance?" We all faced Tsunade who had a pale face.<br>"Oh no.. Daisuke's father was murdered eleven years ago. I fear that he may have found traces of the murderers.. dammit, why didn't this come across my mind when he told me that he was leaving to take care of some people." Tsunade explained.  
>There was a moment of silence, but it was quickly broken by the sound of a chip being crunched. We all faced Choji. Hew had a packet of chips in his hand, and was munching away on them. How dare, at a crucial moment like this. Where did he even get those chips from..<br>"If he is going after these murderers, he may be in a lot of trouble." Tsunade mentioned. "My ANBU have researched this case years ago, and the details of it remain documented. I'll find those documents. I may need you three to go out and bring him back." She said, arising from her chair. Shizune picked up Tonton and stood to the side as if awaiting orders.  
>Tsunade pulled a key out from between her breasts, and unlocked a cabinet, and flicked through many folders inside.<br>Pulling out one particular file, from eleven years ago, she sat back down at her desk, the four of us, including Shizune, leaned in to see everything.  
>Tsunade spread the contents out on the desk, there were several black and white photographs, of an old wooden building, blood patches, and a chair covered in blood. There was one very disturbing photo of a man strapped to the chair with three long blades stabbed through his chest and stomach. It made my stomach churn. There were also several pages of a written report, which Tsunade read over.<br>"Daisuke's description of the kidnappers slash murderers, was that they wore full length black cloaks with dark purple trimmings. And something about a tattoo on their faces. This is what he told authorities back then."  
>"How many were there?" I asked.<br>"Two, or so it says. The location of this building is written here, I'll give this to you. I've heard this gang are dangerous, there's no way Daisuke could defeat these guys on his own. So I'm assigning you the mission of bringing Daisuke back."  
>"How do you know? I mean, how strong are these guys?"<br>"Daisuke's father was.. part of the ANBU many years ago. And he was a strong one at that."  
>I reluctantly brought my attention back to that violent photograph. That man. That man was Daisuke's father. I tried to ignore the blood everywhere, and paid attention to his details. The black and white made it hard to depict specific colours, but his skin looked very pale and his hair was a light colour. I thought that that's what Daisuke would look like when he is older, quite attractive too. I shook my head, snapping that thought out of my mind, quickly.<p>

So there it was. A new mission, just the three of us. I don't remember ever going on a mission with Choji before, so this will be a whole new experience.  
>"Someone's gotta take the leader role out of us three." Choji mentioned.<br>Lee raised his hand. "I volunteer!"  
>We both faced Lee and his eager, passionate expression. Neither of us objected to it, so, Lee was made official leader of this mission.<p>

We looked at the coordinates once we were a fair distance away from the village. That's when we hit our first drawback: none of us could read a map properly.  
>"Okay, I do have a resolution for this!" Lee stated, then pointed at the circled destination. "There is a river right here."<br>"But that's not near the building." Choji mentioned.  
>"I know, but if we followed this river. We will get closer! It only looks about an inch away."<br>"An inch on there could be like 10 kilometres, though. I don't wanna walk that much!" Choji whined.  
>"Walking provides lots of basic exercise, Choji-kun!" Lee exclaimed.<br>"Urgh, don't even say that word!" Choji grumbled.  
>"But, Choji-kun, exercise is good for you!" I exclaimed.<br>We proceeded to argue about this for a long time, until eventually we had to bribe Choji with the only food we had in order to get him to follow us along the river.  
>We ran across the frozen river's surface, being careful not to slip.<p>

Sometime later, while I was ahead of them, I noticed movement in the trees above us. When I looked up, I saw someone jumping through them. I couldn't see clearly though, and this person was fast. Running on the water enabled me to keep up, however they were heading away in a different direction, which meant leaving the water.  
>"Daisuke-kun!" I shouted, but either the person didn't hear me, or just wasn't Daisuke.<p>

I decided to follow.

While running and jumping through frozen shrubs, boulders and small icy puddles, I followed this person for quite a while, before finally seeing a really ancient-looking building in the middle of a few over-grown trees. The timber was falling apart and half of one wall looked like it was going to collapse at any moment.  
>I crept a little closer, I had an eerie feeling which was causing me to hesitate. Then that person I was following jumped down from the trees, and kicked the door down. The whole building rattled from the impact and the weak timber cracked. The person was wearing a very torn up Konoha jacket, had long-ish dark brown spiky hair, and a very muscular build. He reminded me of someone, but I can't think of who.<br>I was curious, so I walked up to the door and peeked inside. The guy was looking around the place. It was just one big room, with a very old, broken wooden chair, and torn violet curtains covering the windows, flowing in the light breeze.  
>"This must be the wrong place." He spoke to himself.<br>"U-uh.. e-excuse me?" I said, nervously stepping inside. The guy immediately turned to me, drawing a kunai.  
>"Who goes there?!" He growled.<br>"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you, I jus-"  
>"Setsuki..?"<br>I blinked. The guy tilted his head to the side, squinting his eyes. I don't know this man, I haven't seen him before. I don't know anyone that has this sort of appearance.  
>"Is that really you?"<br>"Uh... yes? I think so?"  
>"Hm." He put the kunai away. "You've grown."<br>"Uh.. yeah.. I have..?"  
>He stepped over to me, light shined on his face, dry blood and small bruises everywhere. My eyes widened as soon as I realised who it was.<br>"K-K-Komaru-sensei?!"


	78. Chapter 78

**Chapter 78**

"Yes."  
>"Where have you been!?"<br>"Setsuki-chan!?" Lee's voice shouted from outside. I glanced towards the door.  
>"Where is Susumu?"<br>"Back home, I think." I replied. Lee burst into the building, almost colliding into me. He fell at Komaru's feet. Choji jogged in panting a few seconds later.  
>"Too... much... run..ing.."<br>"Who are these two?" Komaru asked.  
>"Ah, this is Lee, and Choji-kun!" I said.<br>Lee looked up at Komaru, then stood up, brushing himself off. "Who are you?"  
>"I think I remember you. You're still wearing that same green outfit." Komaru said. "Rock Lee, isn't it?"<br>"Yes! But who are you?"  
>"You don't recognise me?"<br>"... No!"  
>After a little explaining, Lee finally remembered Komaru-sensei, and our little reunion was soon interrupted when a crunch was heard by the door, and I don't mean the crunch of Choji eating chips. We all faced the door, a pair of cloaked figures stood over the floored door, one had stepped on and broken the feeble door.<br>They were holding someone hostage, a tight grip on their hair, causing them to bend at the knees. My eyes widened at the hostage's shocked face staring back at me.  
>"D-Daisuke-kun!" I stuttered, I glanced at the hooded people, their faces were hidden from sight. They wore full length black cloaks with dark purple rims.<br>"S-Setsuki!"  
>Lee stood up straight, in a stance. "I demand you release Daisuke-kun!"<br>"Seems a few mice have found our-" The one holding Daisuke was suddenly knocked backwards, by an unseen hit by Komaru. Komaru hit Daisuke forward, so he fell flat on his face with a loud grunt. I rushed over, but Komaru extended his arm out, stopping me.  
>"You're not to go engaging in battle with these guys." He ordered. Daisuke stood up, his fists clenched, he faced Komaru. "Who the hell are you?!"<br>"These guys are beyond your level. I'll keep them busy while you four escape." Komaru instructed. He looked serious.  
>"Oh, is that right?" The cloaked guy spoke.<br>"No! I'll be the one to destroy them!" Daisuke snarled, trying to shove Komaru out of the way. But Komaru didn't budge the slightest bit. His stamina was incredible. Komaru made intense eye contact with Daisuke.  
>"I know these are the men who killed your father, but you are no match for them. I can't let my student die in front of me."<br>Daisuke flinched a little. "... Komaru-sensei?"  
>Komaru faced the two cloaked figures, glaring. "These guys are ANBU hunters, they could kill you in the blink of an eye."<br>"I'm blushing." The cloaked guy said. "That's the little rat that you allowed to escape ten years ago."  
>"I remember. I said he'd die in the forest, but seems I was wrong. He's no different to his pathetic father." Said the other.<br>Daisuke turned with a death glare, Komaru held him back. "Don't you _**DARE**_ bad talk my father! You sorry son of a bi-"  
>Komaru quickly slapped his hand over Daisuke's mouth. Daisuke's behaviour was abnormally violent, but I could sympathise with him. If I ever found out who caused the destruction of my village and family, I would be pretty angry as well.<br>The two cloaked men chuckled to themselves, in a mocking manner.  
>"That'll do, Daisuke." Komaru said, pushing him back to us. Daisuke went to step forward again, I hesitantly reached forward and grabbed Daisuke's wrist. He turned with an aggressive expression, but immediately backed off once recognising me.<br>"Daisuke-kun.." I didn't want to say we had to go, I didn't want to stop Daisuke, but I also didn't want him to get hurt.  
>"All four of you, go now!" Komaru demanded.<br>We looked amongst each other, and I particularly looked at Lee. Lee had a thoughtful expression as he stared at Komaru. Daisuke didn't seem intent on leaving.  
>"Lee.." I gained his attention. I gave him a look, and he nodded.<br>"No, Komaru-sensei. As leader of this small platoon, I hereby give the order for us to back you up, and take down these guys!" He said, a fist of courage displaying in front of him. Choji and I grinned, Daisuke gave a nod of approval.  
>"Setsuki." Daisuke said to me. "I don't want you getting hurt. So I'll protect you."<br>Lee seemed to give off a competitive look. "Protecting Setsuki-chan is _my_ job, Daisuke-kun. You do not need to worry, I will make sure they do not leave a single scratch on her beautiful skin!"  
>Daisuke narrowed his eyes at Lee. There was a small spark in their gazes. "I'll be fine!" I said. "We've gotta protect each other, not just me! I'm strong too, y'know!" I mentioned. They both gave an uneasy look, but accepted.<br>"Then I will protect both Setsuki-chan and Daisuke-kun!"  
>"What about me?" Choji grumbled.<br>"And Choji-kun, too!"  
>Then it started, just as Komaru was about to retort, they attacked. One almost knocked Komaru-sensei down, the other came straight for us at an incredible speed. Daisuke turned, as if ready.<br>"I'll avenge my father, right here, right now!"  
>"Nice try brat."<br>That was enough to fully agitate Daisuke, he lunged forward, a kunai in his hand. Komaru-sensei was ready to interfere, but I sprayed water at him.  
>The first cloaked figure vanished, and appeared behind Choji.<br>"Choji-kun! Watch out!" Lee exclaimed, turning quickly to protect him. Choji was too slow to react, before a critical punch knocked him down.  
>"You students are still so disobedient!" Komaru snarled as he took a hit that Daisuke didn't see coming. Daisuke stared at our sensei, I guess a little surprised at his actions.<br>"You kids ought to listen to your wise old master, _if_ you want to live."  
>Lee turned a glare towards the cloaked man. "Running away is not an option!" He spoke bravely. "If we are to truly prove ourselves as proper Chuunin, then we must fi-"<br>"If you are proper Chuunin you will listen to your superiors! Don't throw away your lives so easily, especially not in _my_ presence!" Komaru snapped. I never liked it when he snapped, it was almost like he would turn into a demon. I hated that kind of supernatural thing.  
>"Komaru-sensei!" Lee spoke up. Daisuke was thrown across the room, as was Choji, whom landed on Daisuke as they hit the wall, and smashed through it. They rolled down the small slope before hitting a tree. Lee backed up in front of me. I was in a corner. "We are much stronger now! Let us prove ourselves to you! Give us a chance!"<br>Komaru stood in front of Lee, glaring over his shoulder. "I wont have anymore comrades dying before me." His voice was ghastly.. intimidating, yet... sad?  
>"L-Lee.. maybe he's right. We sh-should go.." I reached out and tried to grab his hand. My gut had started churning out of fear. I had no idea what caused it.<br>Lee clenched two tight fists, and held them up in front of him. I didn't get to touch him. I felt like crying, and I don't know why.  
>"I will not run anymore." He firmly spoke. His eyes narrowed like that of a fearless hawk. I felt my eyes burning up as tears started to form. One of the cloaked men sped off outside after Daisuke and Choji. I squinted my eyes, trying not to let any tears escape. Lee was the last person I wanted to see me cry.<br>"No!" Komaru abandoned us, and pursued after.  
>"Do not worry, Setsuk-"<br>"L-Lee!" My voice was a pathetic sound, a whimper, a sob, as I gripped his back. "I-I don't wanna be here.." I sniffled, I was whining, crying. My crying got worse, because I started crying about crying in front of Lee. The one person I wanted to acknowledge me as strong. And here I was. Breaking down in front of him. "I wanna go home!" I cried.  
>Lee seemed hesitant to say or do anything, his eyes were wide with concern and worry. I sensed a notion of helplessness from him.<br>"How pathetic."  
>Lee glared at the man. "Do not come any closer."<br>"Shinobi who show their emotions are weak."  
>Lee sort of backed up, but I still clung to his back tightly, sobbing uncontrollably. I felt so embarrassed, how could I ever let anyone see me like this, especially in front of an enemy.. and especially... in front of Lee.<br>Lee said nothing, he merely stood there, not taking his eyes away from the cloaked man.  
>"The weak are trash. Nothing but scum."<br>Lee started to tremble. Was he upset too? Was I upsetting Lee? I gritted my teeth, but continued to pathetically sob, the tears wouldn't stop. His clothing was getting wet from my tears.  
>"And to completely lose yourself like that? Utterly pathetic."<br>Lee tensed up. "Now..." His fringe covered his eyes from view. "Hold up just a moment, there.." He was still trembling, shaking, fists were clenched so tightly that blood started to seep out through the bandages. "You.. can say.. anything you want.. about me.." He started to snarl a little, his upper lip was twitching, bearing his teeth like a predator. "But.. no one. _No one_. Gets away.." He lifted his head a little, one of his eyes peered out from beneath his fringe, narrowed and displaying nothing but death. "With calling _my_ Setsuki-chan _**trash**_!" He suddenly disappeared, I gasped and almost fell forward by losing his support.  
>"Hm? What th-!?"<br>The cloaked man was thrown across the room, breaking through the wall. Lee appeared, grabbed him again, and punched his jaw down, a loud crack was heard. Lee withdrew his hand and lifted the man up higher into the air, before performing an extremely powerful drop kick. The man smashed into the ground so hard, that the surrounding trees shook and birds flew away in fright. Lee landed beside the man's head, shaking the ground at his landing. Lee's one-eyed glare was unlike anything I'd ever seen. It was scary. Frightening.  
>"You.. made my Setsuki-chan cry.." Lee knelt down and grabbed the guy's collar, his hood fell off. "<em>No one<em>... makes my Setsuki-chan cry.."  
>The man's eyes widened in fear.<p> 


	79. Chapter 79

**Chapter 79**

Lee's fist penetrated straight through the man's skull. Blood splattered everywhere, covering every blade of grass around them, Lee's suit was soiled red, even his face.  
>I started hyperventilating, I couldn't control my crying, my ribs were hurting. I fell to my knees and buried my face into my hands, finding it hard to breathe.<br>I heard a loud noise, some men groaning, then a snap. "They're finished.." Komaru's voice panted.  
>"S... Setsuki.." A hand touched my shoulder, I tensed up. The voice wasn't Lee's. And it was too gentle to be Komaru-sensei's voice.. "Setsuki.. its okay.. it's over.." I felt myself being pulled into a tight embrace. I found it even harder to breathe.<br>"Setsuki-chan!" Lee's voice ran over quickly, I felt myself being snatched. I sort of glanced up and saw it was Daisuke who had me. I looked up at Lee who now had me. "A-are you okay now?" He tucked my hair behind my ear, and I stared up at him helplessly.. somewhat pathetically. He planted a kiss on my forehead. Daisuke stood up frustrated.  
>"What's the big idea!?" He growled. I started to tremble, and buried my face in Lee's bloody chest. I was just trying to breathe, but I felt too scared.<br>"Please do not shout!" Lee snarled.  
>"I was trying to comfort Setsuki! You had no right to just snatch her like that!"<br>"Setsuki-chan is mine! It is my job to comfort her!"  
>"S-stop it.." I barely whispered, my breathing became harder, my chest was hurting. I couldn't stand them fighting.<br>"You can't speak as if Setsuki is _your_ property! Let her go!"  
>"You do not understand!" Lee shouted. His grip on me became tighter, and I sobbed about it. He was scaring me. They both were. The smell of the blood upset me even more.<br>"No, _you're_ the one who doesn't understand! Who do you think you are?!" Daisuke clenched a fist of fury.  
>"Stop it!" I screamed, pushing Lee away. They both flinched. I didn't know what else to do. I just ran away.<br>"Setsuki! Stop!" Komaru shouted, but hissed when I didn't listen. "You two need to _grow up_!" He scorned at Lee and Daisuke, before leaving to chase after me.  
>Daisuke glared at Lee. "This wouldn't have happened if you weren't such a dick! You know nothing about about Setsuki, or what she's been through! <em>I <em>was her first friend! You don't understand just how much I _hate_ you! How dare you just snatch her from me like some sort of object!" Daisuke snapped, a tear escaped and ran down his cheek. He turned and vanished, leaving Lee there with an unconscious Choji.

Lee was frozen. What must've been going through his mind right now. Why did Setsuki push him away? Why did Daisuke become so aggressive? Isn't it his job to protect Setsuki? That was his promise right? The promise he made when he declared his love? That's all he was doing, right? Protecting Setsuki from harm, it was the right thing to do? Of course it was.. but then why.. just why did she push him away? What did he do wrong? He.. didn't understand.. he just... wanted to do the right thing...

I spent a few days inside my house, inside my room. Mostly hidden under my bed covers, except to use the bathroom. I felt really sad, and I don't know what it was. I still felt this little notion of fright about Lee and Daisuke. I was worried that they'd end up hurting each other.  
>Takashi, naturally, was worried, and kept offering his home-made medicine. I took some occasionally, and it made me drowsy. This is why I stayed in bed, resting, as I was currently doing. Laying on my side, facing the window outside, my eyes closed and my arm wrapped around my pillow, clinging to it.<br>Takashi knocked on my half open door, and told me I had a visitor. I didn't reply, I just pretended to be asleep. I didn't want to see anyone.  
>"Hnn... still asleep.." Takashi quietly muttered, before leaving.<br>I opened my eyes slightly, and heard voices coming from the living room. My head was still heavy, I still felt groggy. But something was telling my body to get up, and so I did.  
>I made an effort to leave my room, and to find Lee and Daisuke in my living room, kneeling on the floor with their heads bowed. Takashi was standing over them with his arms folded.<br>"This is all your fault. Both of you." Takashi accused. I hid behind the wall, not wanting to be seen.  
>"We are.. very sorry, Takashi-san.." Daisuke murmured.<br>Lee said nothing, which was unusual for him. I looked towards the kitchen. I can get there without being seen. So I did. And when I did, I searched for food. I hadn't eaten properly for a while, and it was all catching up. '_If I eat something, I might feel a little better._' I thought.  
>I found the cookie tin and opened it up. I took a good four or five of them, and left the kitchen with one hanging out of my mouth. I slowly headed back to my room when I heard Takashi pushing them out the door.<br>Daisuke was fighting back, pleading Takashi to see me, but Takashi didn't approve.  
>"Please! Takashi-san! I can help Setsuki! I can use my clan's powers, and search her mind for a cause!"<br>Takashi seemed hesitant. "How do I know you're not just going to hurt Setsuki again?"  
>"I-I would never hurt Setsuki! I.." Daisuke shook his head. "Please don't even think that. Setsuki is the reason why I'm still alive today. I owe my life to her!"<br>"That's enough, lad. I can see your concern, but for now, Setsuki just needs to rest. Surely you can give her that much, hm?"  
>Daisuke lowered his head in defeat. "... Y-Yeah, okay."<br>"Good. Now off you go." Takashi closed the door without another word.  
>I caught myself standing in the hall, listening to their conversation. It's true, yes I did save Daisuke's life many years ago. It was during our academy years, our sensei had taken us out into the forest to learn about different survival techniques, when suddenly Daisuke fell into the river and sunk. I was the only one to notice that he had wandered away. As soon as I saw the bubbles rising up from the water, I had a gut feeling. I abandoned the group, and dived in, only to find Daisuke drowning, his foot caught under a log. I managed to free him and bring him back up to the surface. That's how Daisuke and I became friends in the first place. Since then, he's been really overprotective of me too, and I never really noticed that until just now.<br>"Setsuki. You're up..?"  
>"Huh? Oh, yeah. I was hungry." I replied.<br>"A good sign." He nodded. "You know, your old teacher is back. Uchida Komaru."  
>"Oh, right. I forgot about that!" I quickly ate the remaining cookies, and grinned. "I wanna go see him!"<br>"Not in your pyjamas you're not. Go shower and freshen up first."  
>"Okay!"<p>

[Authors Note: Sorry for the long wait guys! Just recently graduated from school, and bought Pokémon Y, so it's all been time consuming ~ I promise to try and release more chapters more frequently now! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! And remember, feedback motivates me to keep writing!]


	80. Chapter 80

**Chapter 80**

Komaru-sensei was welcomed back to the village and back to our squad with open arms, and I could tell he was glad to be home too. Tekuno-sensei was dismissed as our sensei, as Komaru came back.  
>Things were put right between Daisuke-kun, Lee-kun and myself, as we all went out one night over dinner and cleared up our misunderstandings.<p>

Things were getting back on track until not even a month later when Naruto-kun brought home a guy called Sora, which lead to all sorts of mishaps and a huge attack on the village. But we pulled through!

Things went great again, until the Akatsuki showed up and lead to the death of Asuma-sensei. Naruto-kun's arm was severely damaged in his fight with Kakuzu, but he recovered.

Some time later, Orochimaru's death was announced. His murderer? Uchiha Sasuke. This caused a riot in the village, that now Sasuke was probably going after his brother, which caused Tsunade to come to a decision, to let Team 7 and Team 10 pursuit after Sasuke, and bring him home.  
>However, it didn't end as Naruto-kun anticipated. Sasuke killed his brother, Uchiha Itachi, and mysteriously vanished afterwards.<p>

But as if things couldn't get any worse, Jiraiya fell in battle, against the leader of the Akatsuki, Pein. When Naruto returned from his search for Sasuke, and learned of the news, he hid himself away and spent the following month in complete isolation. It wasn't long after that until Naruto-kun started mysteriously vanishing into thin air, his location became unknown and not even our top ANBU could find any traces.

Today, I spent my time training against Komaru-sensei, because Lee and his team were away on a mission. He was helping to improve the strength of my water Ninjutsu, and Taijutsu.  
>"You're strong, but you've got a long way to go." He said, barely breaking a sweat.<br>"I.. wont believe.. that.. until I... beat you!" I said in between breaths. I was totally knackered.  
>"Hmp." Komaru's attitude turned smug. "I remember you saying that the first time. It's been <strong>four<strong> years."  
>"S... shush!" I pouted.<br>Komaru shook his head. "Time to call it a day."  
>"Aww..! Fine.." I pouted. We headed back into the main street, where we were greeted with panic.<br>"What is the problem?" Komaru-sensei grabbed a villager and stared down at him intimidatingly.  
>"W-We're under attack!"<br>"By whom?"  
>"A-Akatsuki!"<br>I gasped. "A-Akatsuki!?"  
>"Is that right.. well, you villagers should probably be evacuated." Komaru-sensei released the poor guy from his grip.<br>"What do we do!?" I asked, becoming frantic. "T-Those people killed Asuma-sensei!"  
>"And they've killed countless others. They may be a threat, but we're at a home advantage here. Don't panic so much."<br>"I'm not panicking!" I lied. "We have to tell the Hokage immediately!"  
>"I'm sure she already is aware."<p>

I ran anyway, searching for Tsunade-sama. Komaru-sensei called out for me to stay by his side, but I was already too far away to turn back. As I was running, and saw so many shinobi scattering, ready for battle, I suddenly thought of Takashi and stopped.  
>"Oh no! He's defenceless!" I quickly spun around and headed home. I was interrupted by Kiba, however.<br>"Setsuki, what're you doing! Didn't you hear the order?! We're supposed to evacuate the citizens!" He snarled.  
>"Uh- that's what I'm doing!" I replied.<br>"Everyone from this end has already been cleared out! Turn around and go check the South-West area, around the Aburame compound!"  
>I looked past him, my house was down that road. "Are.. you sure everyone is?"<br>"What, do you doubt me?!"  
>"Very much!" I answered. Kiba's eye twitched, infuriated. I pushed past him and ran home. The front door was opened, so I ran straight inside. Kiba followed, throwing orders at me to leave.<br>"Uncle Takashi!?" I searched the whole house, every nook and cranny, but he wasn't there, and inside his bedroom, things were missing, so perhaps he was packed up and evacuated after all.  
>"I told you, <em>everyone<em> on this side has already been lead to safety!" Kiba gushed. I turned to him.  
>"Sorry." I half-heartedly said.<br>"Ngh. Come on." He groaned. Akamaru came running inside, barking. "Akamaru! There you are!" Akamaru barked at him, as if explaining something. "What?! Our compound is..!? Rgh.. then we'd better go help mum and Kuromaru at once!"  
>Akamaru nodded, and turned for Kiba to mount him.<br>"What's going on?" I asked. Kiba mounted Akamaru, then sort of turned to me.  
>"My clan's compound is under attack, I'm going to help out. So, smell ya later!"<br>I was about to respond, when suddenly the closest wall to me smashed and the house began to collapse beneath it. I gasped and escaped before I was buried under the rubble, but now I was trapped on the inside.  
>"Arh! Go to the door, Akamaru!" Akamaru obeyed, and I followed them quickly, but then the rest of the house collapsed with us inside. I wasn't quick enough to react, and a huge, heavy piece of timber landed straight on my arm, I heard a loud cracking noise, and suddenly my arm was in instant agony. I let out a scream.<br>"Crap! What happened!?" Kiba shouted. I couldn't move my arm or get it free, it became more and more painful by the moment.  
>"My arm! I can't..." I cringed and struggled.<br>Kiba and Akamaru were free, standing on top of the rubble. "Holy shit!" Kiba dug through some rubble to get to me. "Arm's aren't supposed to bend that far..!" He said. "Akamaru, lend me a hand!" The two put all their strength into lifting the timber off, to free my arm. "M-Move!" He hissed, struggling to hold it up. I rolled out from beneath it, gripping my arm tightly. It was wet, drenched in blood. Kiba immediately dropped it, and it caused the ground to shake a little. Him and Akamaru choked on the dust.  
>"Oi, can you stand?" Kiba spoke down to me.<br>I tried to pull myself up, but it was too painful to let go of my arm. "I.."  
>"... Akamaru, help her."<br>I looked up at him in surprise. He was looking the other way, as if trying to avoid acting compassionately.  
>Akamaru helped me to my feet, and just as I was standing, we were confronted with a trashed area. All the buildings were damaged in some ways, and others completely demolished.<br>"W-What a mess..." I commented.  
>"We can't worry about it now. There's a fight to be won!" Kiba declared. I nodded. ".. But uh... you shouldn't fight."<br>I looked at him immediately. "What?!"  
>"Idiot, you can't fight with an arm like that."<br>"I have my legs!"  
>"What good are your legs going to be!?"<br>"My legs can pack a punch! Don't you worry about that!"  
>"This is the <em>real<em> thing, Setsuki! Your legs wont prove useful at all! This is the Akatsuki we're talking about!"  
>I sighed, he was right.<p> 


	81. Chapter 81

**Chapter 81**

Kiba and I made our way to the Hokage mountain, where all the citizens had been evacuated to, and some Jonin and ANBU were standing guard near the entrance.  
>"You're a real pain, you know that!?" Kiba huffed, because he couldn't go help his clan.<br>"I never did ask you to help me!" I said.  
>"Yes you did!"<br>"Nuh uh!"  
>"... Forget this ever happened, alright!?" Kiba folded his arms and turned away grumbling.<br>"No way, so you actually helped me because you wanted to? How nice of you!" I said, grinning.  
>"No! I don't like you!"<br>"Then why? Huh? Huuuh?"  
>"Because- we're comrades! That's <strong>it<strong>. C-o-m-r-a-d-e-s. No other reason." He nodded, sure of himself.  
>"Oh, alright." I said, then turned to the crowd of thousands of people. "I wonder where Uncle Takashi is..."<br>"Well I'm going, smell ya!" Kiba raced out with Akamaru just like that. I began my search for Takashi.

I finally found him, helping some medics take care of injured shinobi.  
>"U-Uncle!"<br>He turned to me, and his expression became horrified at the sight of all the blood and arm. "Setsuki! Where are you hurt!?"  
>"Just my arm.. our house collapsed on me."<br>"Damn..." He sighed. "Let me look at it."  
>I sat down and he began to clean it up.<p>

Everyone sat in a dreaded silence for a while, all we could hear were faint loud noises from outside, and occasional crying from children. I felt so useless sitting there, but I really had no choice.  
>Takashi had my arm bandaged, plastered and in a sling, it didn't take him long. Couldn't expect less from a professional!<p>

Suddenly everything died down, it was quiet. Very quiet. Some people began to murmur. "What happened?" "Is it over?"  
>Takashi and I looked at each other. "We won, of course.." I said.<br>Suddenly, a huge shockwave caused the cave to tremble for few minutes, and when it died down, the cave was amazingly still standing.  
>"What the heck was that?!"<br>"That really did not feel good!"  
>"I'm scared!"<br>I stood up and looked around frantically. The guards by the entrance seemed shocked as well, they ran outside to investigate.  
>"Setsuki, stay here. Don't go outside, just in case." Takashi told me. But I ignored him and went outside anyway. To my utter shock, the whole village had been completely destroyed, erased! It was nothing but a huge hole in the ground. Every building looked like it had just been pushed aside, and they were all in pieces, pushed up against the great wall circling the village.<br>There was someone in the centre of that hole, but who?  
>"What on earth..."<br>Even the ANBU were surprised. "Hey what's that?! Toads?!"  
>A battle raged on down there, three giant toads against these strange monster-like creatures, full of piercings.<p>

It went on and on, until the monsters were defeated, the toads disappeared, and suddenly, a giant Nine-Tailed fox appeared. I gasped loudly.  
>"I-Is that Naruto-kun?!" I questioned.<br>"The Jinchuriki! He's lost control completely! The Nine-Tailed demon will kill us all!"  
>I shook my head in disbelief. Everything, it all felt surreal.<p>

One man, assuming to be this 'Pein', chased Naruto out of the village, out of sight.  
>"What if they catch him!? They'll kill Naruto-kun!" I panicked. By now, Takashi had come outside.<br>"Don't even think about it." He spoke sternly. I knew better, so I held myself back. I just hoped everything would be alright. I started to worry about Lee and the others, until I remembered they weren't actually in the village. I breathed a sigh of relief, before running down all those stairs, I had to find the rest of us, Sakura-chan and those people. Were they still alive?!

In my search, amongst the rubble pushed up against the great wall, I was devastated to find so many bodies half buried and dislocated. It made me cringe so badly.  
>I eventually came across Daisuke-kun, he was helping out some injured ninja. Oh, I forgot to mention, didn't I? Daisuke-kun has been practising in the art of Medical Ninjutsu for the last few months, and they have high hopes for him!<br>"Daisuke-kun!" I approached him hastily. His eyes lit up immediately.  
>"S-Setsuki..! You're hurt!"<br>"No, it's okay! Uncle Taka-"  
>"Let me heal you! I'll fix you right up!" He said. I gave a small smile at his concerned expression.<br>"It's fixed up, already, Daisuke-kun. See?" I said, petting his head.  
>"Oh..." He seemed disappointed, but got over it quickly.<br>"You're not hurt, are you?"  
>"Nah, not me." He shook his head. "The village.. took quite a toll, though.."<br>"What village..." A shinobi grumbled, staring in disbelief at the huge crater.  
>"How will we over come this.. we've never had damage quite like this before.."<br>"Damn that Akatsuki..!"  
>The shinobi continued to whine helplessly.<br>Daisuke-kun and I glanced at each other sadly, before, too, examining the damage.  
>"We'll rebuild..." Shino's voice came. "Just like ants in a colon-"<br>"Yeah! You're right, Shino-bug!" Daisuke grinned, as if trying to cheer me up. "Just like a colony of ants, we'll rebuild the village!"  
>I smiled.<br>"Shino.. _bug_..?" Shino gave a questioning look that went ignored. "... Daisuke."  
>"What?"<br>"What did you mean by _bu_ "  
>"Oh my goodness! Is that Hinata-chan down there?!" I shouted, noticing a figure laying down in the centre of the crater. They gasped, and followed me as I sprinted down.<br>Seems Sakura-chan also noticed, as she rushed down as well. There were huge rod-like stakes penetrating her.  
>"I-Is she still alive..?!"<br>Sakura knelt down to check her pulse. "Yeah." She breathed. "Hinata's alive. Just." Sakura proceeded to carefully remove the stakes and begin healing.  
>"Let me help!" Daisuke said, kneeling down also. Sakura gave a hesitant nod, and allowed him to help.<br>We were quickly accompanied by a group of Hyuugas, and they thanked us for taking care of Hinata, before carrying her away for further treatment.

"I saw Naruto-kun be chased away by that Akatsuki leader... do you think he's okay?" I asked Daisuke. He just turned and smiled at me.  
>"That dude is one of a kind, of course he'll be alright." He replied, giving a reassuring smile.<br>"I hope.."

After a few hours, he returned holding a bouquet of paper flowers. Everyone rushed to his side, and I sighed of relief.

It was only a week later when reconstruction started. We had to do it on our own, because Tsunade-sama had fallen into a coma. My arm had been properly plastered and in a professional sling now, the bad thing was, it was my right arm – my dominant arm. I tried too hard to help, and ended up carelessly hurting myself more. So there I was, sitting on a pile of logs as discipline. All I could do was stare at the sky, and wonder how long it's gonna take to rebuild.

"Oi oi.. Setsuki!"  
>"Oh?" I looked over my shoulder, and saw Tenten standing there. My eyes immediately lit up.<br>"Hey! You look so lonely over there! I thought you'd like to know we're back!" She said.  
>"Tenten-chan!" I sprung to my feet and ran to her.<br>"Woahah! What'd you do to your arm!?"  
>"My house kinda collapsed on me. They wont let me help rebuild either!" I groaned, giving her a pout.<br>"Woah! Are you alright? That sounds tough."  
>"Of course I'm alri- hey! Where's Lee-kun!?" I asked, noticing she was on her own.<br>"Oh um.." She scratched her cheek, slightly rolling her eyes. "When we arrived, about.. ten minutes ago, Lee kinda ran off to find you. You should have seen his devastation.. he really cares about you, y'know."  
>"Awgh.. where is he?"<br>"He could be anywhere.."  
>I scanned the area. "Do you think if I should loud enough he'll hear?"<br>"No. No no please don't shout." She said, wrapping her arms around me gently.  
>"No time for cuddles, Tenten!" I said, nudging her away. "We have a Lee to find!"<p> 


	82. Chapter 82

**Chapter 82**

As soon as I heard my name being called, I ran for that direction. Then I saw him. Lee. Facing the other way, calling out my name. I had this huge smile, and ran up behind him.  
>"Lee!" I stopped a few feet behind him. He immediately turned around, his eyes lit up.<br>"Setsuki-chan!" His eyes examined me, and widened at my arm. "W-"  
>I cleared my throat and spoke before he could concern about it. "I'm so glad to see you again!" I said, running into his arms. They wrapped around me tightly, and securely. Our lips met for a brief moment, before we were abruptly interrupted by Shizune.<br>"Ah, perfect. You two don't look busy."  
>"Shizune-san?" Lee turned to her.<br>"I'm looking for some ninja to go to the Sand to pick up some medical supplies. Lady Tsunade isn't in the best condition... she.. still hasn't come out of her coma, and her condition is worsening. And now we've a shortage of supplies."  
>"W-What!? Tsunade-sama.. in a coma!? Shortage on supplies?! Eeck! Setsuki-chan! You and I must go at once!"<br>"Hold on, I want a proper unit to go. If you'd please find two other shinobi who are free, take with you. This is a mission, yes. But unfortunately there wont be any reward.. it's more of a voluntary mission." Shizune explained.  
>"That's fine by us! I'll go find Daisuke-kun and Susumu-kun!"<br>"But Setsuki-chan! We should bring Gai-sensei instead!"  
>"Oh! So.. Daisuke-kun and Gai-sensei?"<br>"Now hang on a minute... Lee, didn't your team just get back from another mission?"  
>"That is correct."<br>"Why don't you take a break then. And I had just noticed that sling around your arm, Setsuki. Sorry to bring this up, I'll go find someone more suitable." Shizune gave a slight bow, then turned around, where she was met with Lee's face right in hers.  
>"I urge you to let us go, Shizune-san!" Lee pleaded. Shizune leaned back out of surprise.<br>"O-Oh.. but Lee, listen.. you're not.." She stopped to sigh.  
>"No! We are more than capable for this mission!" Lee exclaimed. I nodded.<br>"You think a broken arm is gonna stop me?"  
>"Oh who am I kidding.." She sighed. "Alright alright. You two can go. You can take along Gai and Daisuke. I will note it down."<br>"Hah! Thank you, Shizune-san!" I flashed a confident grin at her. Lee turned back to me.  
>"I know where Gai-sensei is, you find Daisuke-kun, and meet us at the gate!"<br>I nodded. "Yosha!"

"Setsuki-chwan! You didn't tell me we were going with those two!" Daisuke growled, seeing Gai-sensei and Lee doing warm up stretches together. They still looked pretty exhausted from their previous mission, but there was so much eagerness in their expressions, that could tell anyone they want more.  
>"Gai-sensei! Lee-kun! We're here!" I said, approaching them. Leading an unwilling Daisuke behind me by his hand.<br>Gai-sensei took one look at my arm and laughed. "That's the spirit! Not letting an old broken arm stand in the way of-"  
>"I swear to hell, if I have to put up with your stupid remarks the <strong>whole<strong> time.. you are gonna pay." Daisuke warned. Gai-sensei flashed a cocky grin towards him.  
>"Is that a challenge? Against my outstanding, unbeatable flaming power of youth?!"<br>"That is exactly what I'm talking about!" Daisuke hissed. "You're an old man! You're not young anymore!"  
>"I beg your pardon?! How DARE you insult my charming, deadly, young and handsome, devishly good, handsome looks?!" Gai-sensei ran his fingers through his hair smoothly.<br>"You said handsome twice.." Lee murmured.  
>"Exactly! I am twice the handsome man!" Gai-sensei raised his voice. Daisuke clenched a fist.<br>"Shut up you old fart!"  
>"IF YOU CALL ME OLD ONE MORE TIME I WILL LET YOU KNOW WHAT THE POWER OF YOUTH CAN DO!" Gai-sensei shouted.<br>"U-Uh.. g-guys.." I stuttered.  
>"Yeah!? BRING IT!"<br>The two got right in each other's faces, sparks flew between their glares.  
>"Stop it!" I sprayed water at the two of them. "Daisuke-kun, please get along! If not, we'll have to find someone else!"<br>"What?! And leave you alone with them... ugh. Fine. Anything for you." Daisuke replied. I smiled.  
>"Thank you Daisuke-kun!" I stepped forward, and allowed Lee to take my hand as we began walking. It seemed to irritate Daisuke, a lot.<p>

It took us 4 days to arrive at the Sand. Once we were there, we met with a boy at the entrance. He guided us inside the village, and showed us the way to the medical store. After Gai-sensei loaded the supplies into carry bags, we each took one, ready to go.  
>"Wait, why not stay and rest up a little?" The boy said.<br>"No! We do not rest! We are on a top mission, we must get back as soon as possible!" Lee exclaimed.  
>"A rest would be great.." Daisuke grumbled.<br>"What's your name?" I asked the boy, realising that we hadn't officially introduced ourselves.  
>"Muragashi Senshu." He replied politely. "And you are?"<br>"I'm Kuromizu Setsuki! This is Yamanaka Daisuke, Rock Lee and Gai-sensei!"  
>"Nice to meet you all." He smiled.<br>"You too." I said, smiling back.  
>"But we do not have any money to stay anywhere!" Lee mentioned. I looked immediately at Gai-sensei. He gave a sluggish grin.<br>"I may or may not have left that back in our village."  
>"Gai-sensei! How dare you forget your wallet!" I scolded.<br>"Hey no worries, you guys can stay at my place. The couch is pretty comfy." Senshu said, eyeing off Lee, Daisuke and Gai-sensei. Then he looked at me. "The spare bed is comfier, though."  
>I grinned. "Sure! Sounds nice!"<br>"No! I am not sleeping on some dude's couch." Daisuke huffed.  
>"Daisuke-kun! How could you be so rude!" Lee said.<br>"Well, that's fine with me either way. It was just an offer." Senshu smiled, slowly starting to turn away.  
>"Wait! We'd love to stay!" I said. "Right guys?"<br>"Uh, sure. Sure. How very generous of this young man to offer us a place to stay in our time of need. Such a youthful spirit I sen-"  
>"Shut up!" Daisuke hissed. There was a short moment of silence, before Senshu spoke up.<br>"Well.. should I.. lead the way?"  
>"Yes!" I immediately followed him out the door, leaving the other three behind.<p> 


	83. Chapter 83

I was surprised at how massive Senshu's house was! It was huge!  
>"Woaah! Please show us around, Senshu-san!" I pleaded. Senshu smiled and opened the door for us, like a gentleman. I walked in, the other three followed. Everything inside was very tidy and seemingly dust free. "I've never seen such a big house!" I exclaimed.<br>"No? Then let me give you a tour." He said.  
>"This place is lame." Daisuke grumbled.<br>Senshu just gave a polite smile, as if trying to ignore Daisuke's remark. "Now, hm.. Setsuki-san, this is the room you'll be staying in." Senshu scanned the room in thought. "That couch over there folds out into a nice bed. The three of you could sleep on it."  
>I could feel the 3 of them glaring towards him. "Um.. I think Daisuke-kun should sleep somewhere away from them two." I suggested.<br>"Oh my goodness, thank you Setsuki-chan!" Daisuke sighed of relief. Senshu pointed towards a second couch on the other side of the room.  
>"Will that do any good?"<br>"No. I have an idea." Lee spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. He stepped over to me. "I will sleep with Setsuki-chan, Gai-sensei can have that couch, and Daisuke-kun can have that one over there."  
>"Us? Sleep together?" I asked.<br>"Yes!"  
>"But.. Uncle Takashi wouldn't approve of that.." I said.<br>"Yes, but he is not here!" Lee mentioned.  
>"No no please, I'd like to keep my sheets clean..." Senshu said, scratching the back of his head.<br>"What do you mean?" I asked.  
>"Um... never mind." Senshu turned around. "Oh! Let me show you my garden."<br>"Oh? A garden! Let me see!" Daisuke said, suddenly showing interest. Senshu lead through a small hall, before showing us outside to a beautiful Zen garden. Daisuke's eyes widened.  
>"Are those bonsais?" He walked over with complete interest. I watched, I never knew Daisuke had such a thing for plants.<br>"Yes, please don't touch them." Senshu said, trying to lead him away from the bonsais. I scanned the garden, and my attention was immediately turned to a small pond filled with lotus flowers.  
>"Aww! Pretty!" I gazed upon them.<br>"Aren't they?" Senshu let out a small chuckle. "I'm glad you like it."  
>"Can I touch this?" Daisuke asked, pointing to a very tall bonsai.<br>"No. Get away from it. Now. Please." Senshu said, pulling him away.  
>"Those lotus flowers remind me of you, Setsuki-chan." Lee said, suddenly standing beside me. I looked at him, we made eye contact. We both smiled at each other.<br>"Aw, what's this I see?" Gai-sensei walked over, and put a hand on our shoulders. "Burning love between two of my most youthful students? It's a beautiful sight!"  
>"T-Thank you Gai-sensei.." Lee said, looking the other way modestly.<br>"I wonder if there's any swimming pools around, this heat is intense." I said, fanning myself with my hand.  
>"You folks clearly aren't used to our desert heat, huh?" Senshu smiles.<br>"Yeah, cuz you're wimps!" We heard a feminine voice say. We looked around curiously.  
>"I was wondering when you were going to reveal yourself.." Senshu said, his eyes narrowed slightly, as if irritated.<br>"Haha! I am totally invisible! You couldn't pick me out of- WAH!" Suddenly there was a crash. We all looked over towards the noise, and saw a girl laying amongst a broken vase.  
>"Oh my! Who's that?! Are you okay?!" I questioned.<br>"Ichie! For the last time! Stop following me home!" Senshu whined.  
>"You didn't notice me, Senshu!" She stood up and brushed herself off.<br>"You broke my favourite vase..." Senshu lowered his head.  
>"I... I will fix it!" She spoke, kneeling down to the broken shards.<br>"Who is that, Senshu-san?" I inquired.  
>"Her name is Fukasugi Ichie... she's an acquaintance of mine."<br>"Just so you know, I have no idea how to fix this." Ichie said.  
>"You need to be more careful! I know how terrible your coordination is." Senshu grumbled.<br>"Hey!" She stood up furious. "My coordination is not bad at all! My foot slipped!"  
>"Bad coordination."<br>"Slipped! It was an accident!"  
>"And you're bleeding all over my porch..."<br>"What?" There was a shard jabbed into her thigh, and blood was dripping all the way down her leg. "Oh.. ouch.."  
>"Don't worry, I'm a medic." Daisuke approached her with a small medical kit.<br>"You're not one of those perverts, are you?" She narrowed her eyes with distrust.  
>"Excuse me?" Daisuke narrowed his eyes back. "A pervert? What the hell do you take me for? I'm a well trained medic! If you want me to fix it, don't be such a bitch about it."<br>"I don't know dude.. you Leaf ninja are pretty shifty.." She said.  
>"Shut up and sit down."<br>"I already don't like you."  
>"Fine, I wont be gentle." Daisuke pulled the shard straight out, then applied a sanitised gauze.<br>I turned to Senshu again. He was rubbing his forehead, grumbling.  
>"So why are you Leaf ninja here? Wasn't your village wiped out?" Ichie mentioned.<br>"We are rebuilding! It is our mission to take medical supplies from here, and take them back to our Hokage! She is very ill!" Lee explained.  
>"Well if it's a mission why are you wasting your time here?" She asked.<br>"The girl is right. Hokage-sama is counting on us!" Gai-sensei said.  
>"Oh, I didn't realise your mission was that important!" Senshu said, showing a somewhat guilty expression. "You should get going, then.."<br>"Can I come?" Ichie abruptly asked.  
>"Why?" Senshu turned to her.<br>"If they need to get back there quickly, they'll need a guide to get through the desert in half the time." She smirked, gaining quite a smug posture.  
>"Oh, you have a point. I'll go, then."<br>"What? You? No! I said it first, and besides, I'm definitely more than capable."  
>"Why don't you both come with us?" Daisuke offered, then continued to mumble something else that none of us heard: "It'd give me a break from those two bastards hovering around my Setsuki-chan like flies.."<br>"What do you think, Gai-sensei?" Lee asked.  
>"I think that is a very splendid idea! The more the merrier!" He chuckled.<br>"So it's settled. We leave.. right now!" I grinned.

"You guys must have really struggled through this desert coming here. It's mid-summer, so the desert is at it's hottest!" Ichie mentioned, walking with her hands behind her head.  
>"That's true." Senshu agreed.<br>All this talk of the heat was making me worse. I was already dehydrated, slouching as I walked with my tongue hanging out, panting like a dog. The others all seemed fine, a bit sweaty, but fine. Ichie and Senshu acted like this heat was nothing.

It was probably about an hour after our departure in that devastating desert. I could feel myself sweating all down my legs on the inside of my trousers, my gloves were causing my hands to sweat and dry up quickly, and especially beneath my forehead protector. The salt in the sand was making that even worse, by draining all the fluids out of me and causing my skin to dry up. I had the last water bottle in my hand, and kept drinking mouthfuls at a time. I couldn't understand why the others weren't suffering as much as I was.  
>"Hey... uh... guys..." I panted, I was walking behind them all, so they all stopped and looked over their shoulders.<br>"Setsuki-chan! You don't look so good!" Lee said.  
>"I.. am.. too... hot.."<br>"Ah, yes, well, this route is usually the hottest. But it's a shortcut." Senshu mentioned.  
>"You're also wearing pretty long, thick clothing there." Ichie said, tucking her long side fringe behind her ear.<br>I looked down at my ankle-length trousers, and triple-layer of tops. "Ahh.. yeah..." I know I packed some black short spandex shorts in my bag, perhaps I should put them on, and remove these shirts beneath my Chuunin jacket. "Could you... turn.. around?" I asked. Gai-sensei and Senshu nodded, then turned around. Lee was a little reluctant, but still turned, and Daisuke was extremely reluctant, but knew better. Ichie walked back to me, and stood in front of me, like a guard. I also turned the other way, before removing my shoes, trousers, putting the shorts on, removing the jacket, both shirts until it was just my bra, then putting my jacket back on. I stuffed the rest of my clothes back in the bag and threw it over my shoulder. The warm wind blew against my now bare legs and arms. But the problem was, it was still really hot.  
>"Okay.. I'm ready... lets.. keep going.." I took another mouthful of water, before we continued.<p>

Less than thirty minutes later, the sun was roasting my skin like a strip of bacon in a fry pan. My legs and arms, and possibly my face as well, were all red. My feet were numb from the heat of the sand, even though I had shoes on. I felt delirious, _very_ delirious.  
>"Ma... I.. awai.. ti.." I made incoherent words, as I struggled to take another step. I swear there was an earthquake just now, and I fell over because of it.<br>Lee rushed over as quickly as he could. "Setsuki-chan!"  
>"Wa... hot.."<br>"She is not looking too good.."  
>"Well Lee, you must carry her the rest of the way. It will be good training for you, especially under these rigorous conditions!" Gai-sensei mentioned.<br>"We'll be there soon, just keep enduring." Senshu stated. Lee picked me up, and kind of just threw me over his shoulder.  
>"Did you hear that, Setsuki-chan? We will be out of this desert soon!" Lee reassured, however I felt way too dizzy to understand. The ground was upside down and all over the place as far as I was concerned.<br>"Bu...rrn.. ing... wa... wah... whie.. why... spin... why's.. it spin-ing.." I closed my eyes to try and make it stop, but ended up just passing out.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw a dark room. "My head.." I sat up slowly, but something had my wrists stuck behind my back. When I looked, it seemed to be chains.  
>"What..?" My mouth was so dry from a lack of water.<br>"Setsuki-chan! You're awake!" Lee's voice sounded. I squinted my eyes and looked up. He was standing over me. "I did not know if you were going to make it, but I believed!" I gave him a confused look. Why was he standing up there, and I was chained up?  
>"Good work, Lee!" Gai-sensei stepped over as well, giving his pupil a big pat on the back.<br>"G-Gai... sen.. sei.." My throat hurt to talk.  
>"Now that the culprit is awake, we can begin interrogation!" Gai-sensei sat down with his legs crossed, staring at me, eye to eye. I gave a questioning look. "Now tell us what you have done."<br>"Me...?"  
>"You betrayed us! I cannot forgive that!" His expression became rather serious. Lee sighed sadly, and sat down beside him. "We trusted you!" Gai pointed behind him, three bodies lay on the ground, motionless.<br>"Who.."  
>"Gai-sensei. I do not think she remembers killing them."<br>"Oh I remember." My tongue spoke on it's own. I gasped. Gai-sensei's eyes narrowed. "I remember the look on their faces, the fear." My eyes were wide. What on earth was I saying!? I looked over at the bodies again, to identify them: Daisuke, Senshu and Ichie.  
>"To murder someone from another village without reason, is a serious crime in itself. But to also murder one from our own village, is unforgivable!" Gai-sensei stated.<br>"I cannot believe you would do something like this, Setsuki-chan!" Lee whimpered. "I.. I thought I could trust you.."  
>"You can!" I implored.<br>"Enough of this." Gai-sensei stood up, a kunai appeared in his hand. "The punishment to such a crime, is nothing but death."  
>"Gai-sensei.." Lee got a sad look, but stood up also.<br>"As leader of this mission, I will be the one.. to punish you." Gai-sensei's eyes became hidden beneath his hair.  
>"W-Wait!" I whimpered, my heart started racing.<br>He suddenly lunged the kunai into my chest. The pain was something immense. I felt the splash of liquid on my face. My blood. My lip quivered, and my breath became staggered.  
>"I'm sorry to have to do this. But this is the law." Gai-sensei said, his eyes still not visible. Lee was gritting his teeth, unable to watch. I could feel my chest burning, the blood running out. My breathing became lighter and quicker, gasping for air. My eyes watered, I couldn't believe it. Gai-sensei had just stabbed me. "One more will finish you off." He pulled the kunai out slowly. I cried in pain, because it hurt too much. He went and lunged it again.<br>"NO!" I screamed.

I sat up quickly, and heard multiple gasps. I panted heavily, my heart was racing. I looked down, no wounds.. I gripped my chest, it didn't really hurt anymore. Am.. I dead?  
>I felt the wetness on my face, and touched it. It didn't feel like blood, I pulled my hand down and looked at it. It was only water.<br>"Setsuki-chan?" I looked up and saw Lee's concerned face inches from might. I gasped and leaned back quickly, frightened.  
>"I-I didn't..!" I whined. "You have to believe me!"<br>"W.. what?" He blinked, confused.  
>"I didn't k-" I stopped when I saw everyone looking down at me, with surprised expressions. Gai-sensei, Daisuke-kun, Senshu, and Ichie. "Y-You're alive! Then... then it was all a dream." I sighed of relief, still gripping my chest. A hand plopped onto my head. I looked up, Gai-sensei.<br>"The heat can do some strange things to the mind. Don't worry yourself." He said. I felt reassured by his hand, and closed my eyes. "Keep up the water, Lee! You're doing a good job!"  
>"Yes Gai-sensei! Thank you Gai-sensei!" Lee reached over beside him, into a very small puddle with a cloth.<br>"Water..?" I looked around. We were in some sort of oasis.  
>"We ran as fast as we could, and Senshu-san guided us to this place!" Lee said, pulling up the cloth and ringing it out.<br>"You did that?"  
>"As soon as you stopped talking, I became very worried! As soon as Senshu-san pointed this place out, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me!"<br>"Yeah, he's right. We lost sight of him within a few seconds." Senshu shrugged.  
>"That's quite some speed if I've ever seen it." Ichie commented. My eyes watered a little.<br>"Lee.." I hugged him tightly, so relieved. He flinched unexpectedly, slipped, and fell int the water. I followed, of course. The water felt so nice. Lee was shaking, when I looked at him, it was clear that he didn't manage to take a breath before going under. "Ah! Sorry!" I pulled him up to the surface quickly, and he coughed up some water.  
>Gai-sensei only laughed. "A full recovery! Well done, Lee!"<br>Lee sniffled, spitting more water. "Thank you!"  
>"Ahh.." I went back underwater, and sank some. It was so relaxing, cool, quiet. I closed my eyes.<br>"She's uh, not surfacing." Senshu said.  
>"No no it' is fine." Lee said.<br>"She's probably drowning."  
>"No she is not!"<br>"Its been a few minutes now!"  
>"She is fine!"<br>"Aren't you her boyfriend or something?"  
>"Yes."<br>"But you don't seem to care that she's drowning?"  
>"She is not drowning."<br>I surfaced. "What's going on?"  
>"Oh.. she's not drowning." Senshu gave a strange look.<br>"I can't drown." I stated. Lee nodded knowingly.  
>"Why not? Are you a fish?" Ichie asked.<br>"I could be..." I said. Ichie narrowed her eyes suspiciously.  
>"Well now that you're definitely recovered, we need to keep on our way!" Gai-sensei said.<br>"Yes, Gai-sensei! You are so very focused! So inspirational!" Lee lifted me out of the water, and into his arms.  
>"Woahh! Lee?!"<br>"I will carry you across the scorching desert!"  
>"How much further is it?"<br>"Not long." Senshu replied.  
>"Only another 5 or 6 hours." Ichie replied. We all looked at her.<br>"I thought you- eh, _he_ said this was a shortcut!" Daisuke hissed.  
>"It is. But if you lot can speed up, we could make it out of here in only 2 hours." Senshu mentioned.<br>"Challenge accepted!" Lee began running.  
>"Wrong way.."<p> 


	84. Chapter 84

Wow would you look at this, a chapter at long last!  
>I'm terribly sorry for the excessively long break, my inspiration to write had completely abandoned me for months, and I just could not find any motivation to write a single thing. However I've just recently got back into writing in another form; roleplaying. Having Setsuki as my muse, she has had much character development, and I also believe my writing has improved significantly! I would love you forever if you left a small feedback on my writing now, and let me know if you think I have also improved on it! :)<br>I'm going to try and bring out chapters a little more frequently now, but emphasis on **try**. I'm once again, terribly sorry about the wait, but I hope you can forgive me!

I've also sort of been hanging out to see the ending of the current war in the Nardo Manga, to see where everything goes, so I'm already planning ahead for when we get there with this fic, and also have already planned what will happen after the war; it's just a matter of what Kishimoto does now, that determines if it will conflict with my plans or not! Fingers crossed guys!

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><p><strong>Chapter 84<strong>

There it was, home. That huge crater in the ground. Senshu and Ichie both gasped at the sight (they decided to follow us all the way home instead of departing at the end of the desert.), it was a horrifying sight for the both of them, who had never witnessed such a terrible destruction. A sad sigh emitted from Lee behind me; "To come home to such a mess, it was truly awful! However I do believe with the sheer determination and hard work of our comrades, this village will thrive and prosper once more!" Spirit lit up in his eyes, which put everyone at ease. As a proud mentor, Gai simply petted his pupil on the shoulder once, before leading on.  
>"Very well spoken, Lee! We, too, are also playing a very important role. To travel across the countries with our youth burning brighter than the sun, all for the sake of the village, in order to bring back miraculously healing items to further enhance our recovery!" A smile prominent on his lips, Gai marched forward ever so proudly.<br>"Miraculously healing items.. y' mean medicine, right?" Ichie seemed bothered by his habit to exaggerate on even the simplest things, but she had no choice but to deal with it.

"TRUER WORDS COULD NOT BE SPOKEN, GAI-SENSEI!" Lee bolted after his sensei with tears almost running down his face. How he had so much energy, _still_, left me confused, yet pleased.  
>Daisuke threw a tired arm around my shoulders, before, too, walking on. I had little choice but to walk alongside him as he was practically pulling me along. "Everythin' okay, Daisuke-kun?"<br>"Hm? Oh, _yeah_. I mean, why wouldn't it be?" A smile which I had not seen this entire mission, was now gleaming across the tired boy's face. It put me at ease.  
>"Well, that's great, neh! We can report in and finally get some well earned rest."<br>"Indeed." Though, his idea of a rest was more of a _break_ from the exuberant pair in front of us.

A couple of weeks later and the village was already beginning to prosper; Many buildings now stood tall once again, the Yamanaka clan had managed to assist in the growth of foliage, which had noticeably turned the village green and colourful once more, many businesses -including Ichiraku's- had reopened and better than ever. Albeit all the positives, were also negatives; Tsunade had not awoken from her coma, and there was talk of war. War.  
>A single word which was so eerie, so <em>daunting<em>, it tormented me so much that it sent shivers to my bones. Horrific memories lay behind that very word. War - Massacre - Me. Yes. I hated that so much, and I very much dislike thinking of the past.

It had been so long since my time in this village; thirteen years almost, and yet, only three people know of my past; Lee-san, Daisuke-kun, and Tekuno-sensei. It's too horrifying to just _bring up, _after all. But even so, I have been managing to sneak out every Saturday morning -without fail- to purchase a bouquet of Pink Carnations, and take them to Kikyo Pass. I lay a single flower at each headstone; not just my family, but everyone. The bouquet is huge, so it takes skill not to lose any of them on the three-hour long travel. I would sooner return roughly around twelve or one in the afternoon, just in time for lunch.

However; Today I was not so successful at sneaking out. Five-thirty and the sun was barely even atop the distant peaks. It was cold, but I wore a thick jacket- it made do quite well. Just as I came near the village gates, my one-track thought of the journey ahead was abruptly disrupted as my name was called. My heart near skipped a beat, and I panicked. _No body is supposed to know about my visits to Kikyo Pass_. The bouquet was much too large to simply hide, I had no choice but to confront what faced me, and come up with some sort of alibi for them. Ah, but it was only Lee-san. Jogging with an even pace, and continuing to even do so once he stood beside me on the spot, his usual cheery demeanour was prominent as ever. A content smile sat on his face, a genuine happiness residing from within. Was it from simply seeing me? That thought alone placed a smile on my lips, also.  
>"Ah, good morning, Lee-san." I could continue walking, holding the flowers against my chest as my head faced forward once more.<br>"Setsuki-chan, you are up much earlier than usual!" The sight of the contrasting pink colour from the flowers from my dark blue jacket did not pass him by. "... Everything is okay, right?"  
>"Mhm, certainly, Lee-san." Any tension left my body, I felt comfortable around him. He was someone I could talk to about absolutely anything in the world, and still feel at ease. He was always there when things got tough, and would wipe away my tears. Every day was like a brand new challenge to him; he was intent on making each day much better than the last, for the both of us. What we have is such a wonderful relationship, and I couldn't be happier.<br>"May I ask where you are heading on this lovely morning?"  
>"Ah.. I'm going to Kikyo Pass.." Yes, I hadn't even told Lee-san about these little trips. Mostly, to avoid him worrying too much about me; after all, he does that a lot.<br>A gravely concerned expression replaced the previously smiling one, as he stared at me. "Kikyo Pass.."  
>"Mm! I go every Saturday morning now, to, y'know, replace the flowers and stuff." I smiled up at him reassuringly, but he was confused. Should he be happy for me, or feel sad? His eyebrows furrowed as the question circled his mind. He studied my face carefully, before coming to his conclusion. His round orbed eyes closed, and his lips parted once more.<br>"Then allow me to accompany you, Setsuki-chan! Surely the journey is lonely, and I am most certain that a youthful spirit such as myself would be a very good company!"  
>"Actually- no."<br>"N... No?"  
>"It would be the <strong>best<strong> company, Lee-san." A smile. His expression turned incredibly satisfied, and perhaps a little flustered. Taking my hand in his, Lee began to walk by my side. It was definitely a much better morning, now.


	85. Chapter 85

Ahh, I'm on a roll tonight. Two chapters in such a short amount of time, I hope you guys enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter 85<strong>

On the way Lee and I chatted about small things, commented on bits of scenery or animals nearby, and by the time we arrived just under three hours later, Lee was caught up in a huge tale about a mission he had recently been on, and was incredibly enthused about how much stronger he believed he had become – and I, for one, could highly agree with that. He was certainly much stronger, physically, and even though our Taijutsu was almost on an even level a while back, he had become much stronger than I. Though, in a fight using my Ninjutsu; that was definitely a different story.

But now, here we stood, the ruins of Kikyo Pass- well, more like just a cemetery now. Gazing around at the area, where grass and other plants had dominated the debris of buildings, and structures, Lee had his thinking expression on; which was either really good, or really bad.  
>"What's on your mind, Lee-san?" Of course, I was curious, either way.<br>"Setsuki-chan." He turned to me, a seriousness in his eyes. "I promise, that after this war, I will help rebuild this place to it's former glory!"  
>I blinked. <em>Well, <em>I most certainly was not expecting that. "Rebuild, huh?" I glanced around the area, also. But it was impossible. This town had perished along with it's inhabitants, and now nothing remained of it. Even if it were to somehow be rebuilt, would anyone live here knowing it was once the target of a massacre? The thought pained me, I merely lowered my head at his words. "That's very considerate of you, Lee-san.. however I can't see it becoming what it once was." I hoped he would understand, but his expression remained inquisitive, demanding to know the meaning behind my words. As I walked to the graves, I explained it to him, but dismissed it with a reassuring sentence; "As long as these people aren't forgotten, I don't see a reason why it needs to be rebuilt."  
>A nod from him had be believing this conversation was over, but as always, he proved me wrong.<br>"This place was your childhood home, Setsuki-chan! That is all the reason it needs!" By the sounds of it, he wasn't changing his mind. "And maybe after the war we.." A pause caught my immediate attention, I found myself facing him completely, our eyes locked. My hand was cupped between his two, as it was pulled up towards his chest. This was a gesture of true sincerity. "We could live together, right here. Along with Takashi-san. That way you can be much closer to the rest of your family, Setsuki-chan!" There he goes again, thinking about me as a top priority.  
>To say I disagreed with him would be an utter lie, it <em>was<em> an amazing idea that I would love to be carried out.. "Lee-san. That is such a marvellous idea," his eyes lit up with a happiness. "but there is no way I could drag you all the way out here away from _everyone_ just for my sake. Lee, what about Gai-sensei? Neji? Tenten? The village? Three hours is a long time to travel to visit them each day, and there's no way I could put that kind of strain on y-" A single finger met my lips, before his face leaned in.  
>"I would be most willing to do that, for you Setsuki-chan." He placed a brief kiss upon my lips, as if to further silence me before I could respond, and to emphasise his love and commitment of which he was speaking of. "Even if I must arise three hours earlier than usual to travel home to meet Gai-sensei every morning, even if I had to arrive here three hours later of an evening after training, I would do it all just for you, Setsuki-chan!" Another kiss, only this time, it lasted longer, filled with tenderness, and passion.<br>I could feel tears building up in my eyes as his words and actions hit a soft spot in my heart. To have someone so willing to alter their own life just to fill my own happiness? It was like nothing I'd ever had before. Is this what they call.. true love?  
>Of course, I had to close my eyes before those tears dare escape, and before Lee could pull back and continue saying such sweet things, I returned the gesture; by removing my hand from his, I moved it to the back of his head and pulled his face closer. I would return my affections through actions, rather than words, for I was utterly speechless.<p>

Through the touch of his lips, I could feel them curl into a smile as our kiss lasted quite a while, without the concerns of the general public around us, or my over protective uncle being around, we were free to express our affections as much as we wanted, without a care in the world. It was beautiful. It last such a long time, that we both felt the need to share a little more intimacy before returning home, and that was okay. Surely no one would mind just a single day without us around, right?

But first things were first; to lay out the Carnations by each headstone, and pray. With the two of us working together, praying together, and actually vocalising our thoughts, I couldn't help but feel our own bond becoming spiritually stronger, too.

It took little over two hours for the process to finish, as it took much longer with the two of us, and I found myself sharing fond memories to Lee, of which he seemed pleasant to hear about. But sadly, it was almost time to get going, after all, we'd never make it home in time for lunch now. It was nearly eleven o'clock and the lunch sales at Ichiraku's would end before we would be able to arrive back. The thought was discouraging, but something kept us wanting to stay.

It was hard to understand what exactly the feeling was, but it felt like a longing; a _need_ to be alone and isolated with Lee a little longer. It was so pleasant with just the two of us with no one else around, and I almost felt like I wanted it to be like this more often. We had our privacy, the ability to do absolutely anything without being judged or watched by others, and most of all, each other.

Lee seemed like he was feeling the same thing, only, he had a little more of an understanding about the feeling. Instead of heading back we decided to sit. Sit on the grass side by side, close to each other. He seemed conflicted with a thought on his mind; he was a growing, maturing young man whose hormones were inevitable, and he knew that. The only problem was, with his urgencies to _deal_ with those desires, would mean to _experiment_ and play around in an inappropriate manner with this bluenette. He absolutely _refused_ to allow himself to succumb to sexual desires, for there was no way he intended to ruin Setsuki's innocence to selfishly. After all, she was also a maturing young woman, who was bound to feel the same hormones sooner or later, but even so, he believed he would not do a single thing to her beautiful, pure body. He would need to find an alternative way to take care of his needs.

But even so, he would like to just _hint_ at it for now, because he, too, felt absolutely comfortable around this kunoichi. She had been there for him for so long now, and he felt as though he could speak to her about absolutely anything, comfortably. He believed she, and Gai were the only ones who would ever see his sad side, and both were equally good at cheering him up and comforting; although comparing them, he knew Setsuki had a much softer, way of doing it, and it wouldn't take much to convince himself that he preferred that over Gai, after all, he seemed a little more to-the-point, whereas with the bluenette, he could speak as deeply as he wanted, without being told to simply -man up-.  
>A deep breath filled his lungs.<p>

"Setsuki-chan.."


End file.
